At 3:37 of overtime, Boston Bruins’ defenseman Hampus Lindholm fired a wrist shot by Pittsburgh Penguins’ goaltender Tristan Jarry to give the Bruins an improbable 6-5 win on Tuesday night. That was the fourth point of the night for the Swedish blue liner, who capped a comeback from a three-goal, third-period deficit to move the Bruins to 9-1-0 on the season. Lindholm has scored a point in seven of the ten games for Boston and has become the dominant defenseman the Bruins hoped for when Lindholm was acquired last season.
The 28-year-old spent the better part of nine seasons with the Anaheim Ducks and showed good offensive skill and shutdown ability on defense. As the Ducks struggled through another challenging season in 2021-22, Lindholm’s contract was expiring, and the Bruins seized the opportunity to find a partner for their star defenseman Charlie McAvoy. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound defenseman had five assists in ten games with Boston last season and went scoreless in four postseason games. Coming into this season, McAvoy is as set to miss the first couple of months, and Lindholm was going to be under the spotlight and called upon to carry the load for Boston.
With the added responsibility, Lindholm has flourished. New Head Coach Jim Montgomery has implemented a more offensive, puck-moving style for the defense, and It has been a great fit for Lindholm so far. The former sixth overall pick has eleven points in the first ten games and is playing a career-high average ice time of 24:21 per game. In Tuesday’s win, Lindholm played 29:47 (37 shifts) and had enough left in the tank to go end-to-end to score the game-winning goal. The big left-shot defenseman is a great complement to McAvoy and should provide Boston with one of the top defensive pairings in the National Hockey League.
Lindholm’s career high in points in 34 set back in 2014-15 with Anaheim, his second year in the league. Questions about a possible decline for Lindholm loomed when Boston traded for him, but those concerns will subside with Helsingborg, Sweden native’s play to begin the season. In 20 games overall with Boston, Lindholm has 16 points and a plus-19 rating. Although Lindholm’s value will not show in the “hit” category,” the former Duck uses his body well positionally and moves the puck with great fluidity via the pass or with his powerful stride. Those traits make him a great fit in Montgomery’s system. As McAvoy gets closer to returning, the Bruins will continue to lean on Lindholm to play heavy minutes.
The Bruins are in the midst of their toughest stretch of the young season, with games against the Rangers, Maple Leafs, Blues, and Flames coming up consecutively. In order to continue their franchise-record start, Boston will need Hampus Lindholm to continue to be the horse he has been for them in the first ten games of the season. Something that General Manager Don Sweeney envisioned when the Bruins added Lindholm to the mix last season. The Bruins finally have their top-pair, left-shot defenseman, and he is playing like a top defenseman in the league.
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