Bruins' top defender to miss weeks with lower-body injury

Jim Montgomery shared that top defender Hampus Lindholm will be out for “weeks” with a lower-body injury, suffered while blocking a shot from St. Louis’ Justin Faulk on Tuesday night. The shot appeared to hit Lindholm’s left knee and forced him out of the game after just eight minutes of ice time.

Lindholm’s departure from the lineup is dismal news for the Bruins. He’s received the second-highest ice time on the team, averaging just under 21 minutes through 17 games — only behind Charlie McAvoy’s 24 minutes of average ice time. Lindholm has recorded three goals and seven points in that span, adding 17 blocked shots and five hits. He’s returned as a pillar of Boston’s play in the defensive half alongside D-partner Brandon Carlo, with the pairing also handling top-unit penalty-killing duties in addition to their heavy usage at even-strength.

Lindholm’s prominent role will make him a challenge to replace. Boston recalled veteran defender Jordan Oesterle on Wednesday morning, giving him a chance to debut with the team after spending the last three seasons in Detroit and Calgary. Oesterle should provide some of the stalwart defense that Boston now finds themselves without — and could even bring an offensive spark, sitting with eight points in nine AHL games this year.

Oesterle will likely step into a depth role while the team waits for one of Lindholm or Andrew Peeke — designated as week-to-week with an upper-body injury last week — to return to full health. That should also provide a boost in ice time for Mason Lohrei, who’s scored four points in 13 games this year but also boasts the highest xGA/60 of all Bruins defenders, per Natural Stat Trick.

The Bruins will get a bit of relief in their schedule after visiting Dallas on Thursday, with Vancouver standing as their toughest competition before the end of November. They’ll hope to take full advantage of that respite, and either advance one of their shutdown defenders back from injury or find a suitable replacement in their shallow defensive depth.