The Boston Bruins have been without one of their best players, defenseman Hampus Lindholm, for almost two months.
And while Lindholm is making progress in his recovery from a lower body injury, he's not yet ready to return to game action for the Original Six franchise.
“He’s not skating yet, but he is getting closer to being on the ice,” Bruins head coach Joe Sacco told reporters before Thursday's 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. “I don’t have an exact time for when he’s going to be hitting the ice, but he’s getting closer to returning to the ice.”
Lindholm blocked a shot with his leg during a Nov. 12 game against the St. Louis Blues. He left that game in the first period and hasn't played since.
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The Bruins have definitely felt the loss of Lindholm. He's a legit top-four defenseman who plays over 20 minutes per game, contributes to the power play and penalty kill, matches up against the opponent's top forwards and helps drive offense.
There are a lot of reasons why the Bruins rank 30th on the power play, and missing a playmaker of Lindholm's caliber is one of them.
Lindholm tallied seven points (three goals, four assists) in 17 games at the time of the injury. The Bruins are the fourth-lowest scoring team in the league at 2.58 goals per game.
The Bruins will be back in action Saturday night when they play the rival Maple Leafs in Toronto.
