By: Tom Calautti | @TCalauttis
The Boston Bruins have struggled defensively. They’re currently tied for sixth in the league in goals allowed (133) and have allowed a total of 46 goals over the course of 13 games in December, good enough for 3.53 goals per game. Things need to change if the Bruins are going to get back on the winning track, and head coach Marco Sturm made a lineup change that sparked his defensive core.
Before the December 29th contest against the Calgray Flames, the team announced that they were activating 26-year-old defenseman Jonathan Aspirot from injured reserve. Prior to his December 11th upper-body injury, Aspirot had been a revelation for the Black and Gold.
He slotted in alongside Nikita Zadorov on the team’s top defense pairing after Charlie McAvoy took a puck to the face. In the 133:21, Aspirot and Zadorov skated together, and the team outscored its opponents 8-3 while deployed against the other team’s top line.
Since Aspirot’s injury, the Bruins have gone 1-6 and have been outscored 27-16. His return to the lineup against the Flames allowed Sturm to make a change to his back-end, one that almost immediately paid dividends.
With Aspirot back in the lineup, Sturm decided to pair him with Hampus Lindholm on the team’s second defensive unit, moving Andrew Peeke down alongside Mason Lohriei. Despite losing 2-1, the Bruins turned in one of their best defensive efforts of the season.
Boston allowed only 21 shots against (their second-lowest total of the year) and limited the Flames to 49 shot attempts (fourth-lowest of the year). Aspirot did take a penalty that eventually led to the overtime winner, but his and Lindholm’s performance overall was a significant step in the right direction for this defensive group.
The Black and Gold left Calgary and headed to Edmonton, where they faced off against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers for a New Year’s Eve showdown. Aspirot and Lindholm were paired up together once again, and this time they made their presence known.
The duo spent a total of 12:37 together during the game, 11:46 of which came at five-on-five. In that time, the Boston Bruins dominated all tangible possession and offensive metrics. They outchanced Edmonton 11-5, outshot them 5-3, out-scored them 2-0, outchanced them 7-3, and high-danger chances were 3-2. Those numbers become even more impressive when you consider how the duo was deployed.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Lindholm and Aspirot spent the majority of their minutes at five-on-five (7:39 for Lindholm and 6:52 for Aspirot to be exact) against Edmonton’s top line, which features Connor McDavid centering Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Boston’s newest defensive pairing held their own against one of the best lines in hockey and also chipped in offensively.
The Bruins went on to defeat the Oilers 6-2, ending their six-game losing streak. Lindholm finished the night with a stat line of 1-1-2 while skating 21:20, landing five shots on goal while blocking two shots and registering a +2. Aspirot also got in on the offense, notching a goal across his 16:11 of ice time while sending three shots on net.
I know it’s a short sample size, and there’s plenty of season left to play, but the early returns on the Lindholm-Aspirot pairing are solid. The move allows Sturm to deploy his defensemen more comfortably (i.e., third-pairing minutes for Lohrei & Peeke). It provides Lindholm with a physical, smooth-skating defensive partner who can close on opponents and take away their time and space.
If this pairing can continue their solid play, especially against elite offensive talent, the Bruins should be able to solve some of their defensive woes and get back to the kind of hockey that made them so successful in November and early December.
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