( Photo Credit: Natalie Reid-Imagn Images )

By: Andrew Patten | Follow me on Twitter / X @a_patten11

As the Boston Bruins prepare for their matchup on Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Monday morning’s skate at the Warrior Ice Arena may have foreshadowed that a lineup change could be coming. According to the Bruins’ Belle Fraser, Henri Jokiharju was skating on the third pairing with Nikita Zadorov at practice, while Andrew Peeke and Jordan Harris were the extra defensemen.

After being acquired at the trade deadline in March of 2025, Jokiharju skated in 18 games for Boston, earning himself a three-year extension a day before NHL free agency opened. It was one of the first moves General Manager Don Sweeney made this past offseason. This season, Jokiharju has found himself in and out of the lineup, skating in only 36 games for the black and gold, missing a chunk of time due to an injury.

If Jokiharju is inserted into the lineup, it’ll be his first game action since last Monday’s overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils. The Finnish defenseman logged over 19 minutes in the game, registering an assist and three blocked shots. On the season, Jokiharju has recorded ten assists and seen some action on Boston’s second power play unit.

Seeing Peeke as a potential scratch hasn’t been a rarity since returning from the Olympic break. The 28-year-old found himself on the ninth floor in Boston’s first two games when the NHL season resumed, resulting in some trade speculation. He would return to the lineup once the calendar flipped to March, but was again subbed out for Jokiharju in New Jersey. This month Peeke has recorded one point in ten games with a plus/minus rating of -1.

With Boston’s top two pairings seemingly set with Jonathan Aspirot-Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm-Mason Lohrei, the right side of the third pairing with Zadorov appears to be wide open. Both Peeke and Jokiharju bring different skillsets to that spot. With Peeke, Boston’s third pairing would arguably be their best all-around defensively, with both acclaimed for their strong play in their own zone.

Jokiharju brings a little more offensive upside to the blueline. His ability to jump up into the rush could open up some more chances in the O-Zone. While the Bruins rank third in the NHL for Points by a Defenseman with 156, Charlie McAvoy has recorded a little more than a third of that total with 55 points on the year. A chance to get some more offense from the bottom pairing could be beneficial for Boston.

Then there’s Jordan Harris. The Haverhill, MA native started the year with a bang, registering an assist in his first game as a Bruin. He followed that up by scoring his first goal of the season against the Tampa Bay Lightning, showing the offensive skill that made him a third-round pick of Montreal back in 2018. On an early-season West Coast road trip, he would suffer a broken ankle that had him on the shelf for multiple months. The former Northeastern Huskie would work his way back to the Bruins after a conditioning stint with Providence. Since returning to the NHL, Harris has only seen action in one game, Boston’s 6-3 loss to Nashville earlier this month.

With March underway, Marco Sturm is still searching for the right partner for Nikita Zadorov. While Peeke has seen most of the action, Jokiharju and Harris remain in contention to solidify the third pairing as the Bruins continue to pursue a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.