The 2024-25 season was a bad one for the Boston Bruins and something that the franchise hadn’t had to endure very often for years. The team missed the playoffs and finished last in their division with a record of 33-39-10 (76 points). Some core players were traded, and the team came back looking significantly different this season.
One of the biggest changes from the majority of last season to this fresh 2025-26 season for the Bruins is health. Key players began this season on a healthy note and in the lineup, but in the second game of the season, things could start to turn sour very quickly for the 2-0-0 team.
Hampus Lindholm Already Injured for Bruins
Hampus Lindholm hasn’t had the healthiest of careers, but he doesn’t typically miss a ton of games. His previous three seasons saw him get into 73, 80, and 71 games, so being unable to play for all but 17 games last season was a major change, and it really hurt the Boston Bruins, given that he’s the team’s number two defenseman.
After the anticipation of a group that was coming into this season with a clean slate and clean bill of health, Lindholm was injured just over 10 minutes into the second game of the season against the Chicago Blackhawks. He was ruled out of the remainder of the game with a lower-body injury, so there has not yet been an announcement as to the extent of the injury. He missed all that time last season after a knee surgery and a setback further into the season when he was closer to a return.
When healthy, Lindholm is a very good d-man in the NHL. He isn’t known for his offense, but rather for a solid all-around game. It was shocking to see the veteran explode for 10 goals, 53 points, and a league-leading +49 in 2022-23, his first season with the Bruins. That is what he could bring to the team, but even his following season in 2023-24, with half of the offense from the season prior, was solid.
Missing a defenseman like this from the lineup for 65 games takes a toll on the team. It forces d-men in the organization who don’t usually get the playing time an injury like that provides, a much larger role. Then, in comparison, whoever steps in doesn’t impact the game the same way Lindholm does, not to the fault of theirs.
Injury-Riddled Down Season for Bruins in 2024-25
Some may be sleeping on the Boston Bruins if they remain healthy, but one insider, Elliotte Friedman, wrote, “Eastern team I’d pick to make the playoffs if I had any guts: Boston. Between a healthy Charlie McAvoy, a healthy Hampus Lindholm and a clear-headed Jeremy Swayman, they should be a much better defensive team. Just don’t know how much they’ll score.”
With Lindholm in the lineup, the Bruins went 8-7-2 to start last season. But he wasn’t the only key player out of action for a good amount of time. Charlie McAvoy, the Bruins’ best defenseman, only played 50 games. With him in the lineup in 2024-25, the team went 23-22-5. Understandably, the Bruins did much worse without their two best defensemen, whether only one missed a game or both did.
In turn, this negatively impacted the goaltending as Jeremy Swayman struggled in his first season as the clear-cut starter in Boston. He may have felt more pressure to succeed and carry the weight of the team, but had just finished a grueling contract negotiation and also wasn’t pushed by Joonas Korpisalo like he was with Linus UIlmark in prior years.
The injuries kept the two best defensemen on the team out of action, and therefore out from in front of Swayman during plenty of the season. With worse defenders, more opportunities to score against the Bruins came. The starting goalie struggled, but his help also dwindled significantly at the same time.
It is a new season and the Bruins are undefeated, but things could turn from good to bad quickly if the news of Lindholm’s injury just a game and a half into the new season is more serious.
