Bruins Problems Are Deeper Than Hagens and Lohrei – The Hockey Writers – Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins are a better team with James Hagens and Mason Lohrei in the lineup than with Lukas Reichel and Jordan Harris. That said, they also didn’t lose Game 4 of their opening-round playoff matchup at home against the Buffalo Sabres solely because these changes were made. Ultimately, the Bruins’ problems run much deeper than a few lineup tweaks at this point in the season.

It’s clear to anybody watching that Hagens has offensive potential in spades. His efforts may not have necessarily translated to the scoresheet yet, but his immense upside goes far beyond just his puck skill. Typically, offensively gifted forwards don’t excel when put in situations that require them to play a more grinder-esque role. While Hagens has played with two high-skill players in Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov, he’s still taken it upon himself to be a do-it-all forward who’s been, in short, a pest for other teams even when he doesn’t have the puck. Whether it’s on the forecheck or disrupting breakouts, he’s consistently involved.

In Lohrei’s case, it’s easy to see the upside and the downside in his game. From an upside standpoint, Lohrei is one of the Bruins’ best puck-moving defenders. Whether it’s with his smooth skating or with the puck on his stick, Lohrei adds an element to the Bruins that they lack without him. At the same time, he struggles with turnovers, and the good can quickly be overshadowed when the puck is being gifted to the other team for one reason or another as a direct consequence of Lohrei’s play.

The irony is that without Lohrei in the lineup, the Bruins had 17 turnovers in their 6-1 loss to the Sabres on Sunday, including 10 in the first period alone. Three of the Sabres’ first four goals were a direct result of these turnovers. In fact, 10 of the Sabres’ 15 goals this series have come within 10 seconds of a takeaway. That’s the most of any team in the postseason.

For a team that needs consistent forechecking and puck movement, it was a questionable decision to sit both Hagens and Lohrei for players who didn’t inherently offer those traits. It’s also a testament to the fact that the Bruins’ issues are much bigger than just sitting a 19-year-old who wasn’t available to the team all season long anyway, and Lohrei, who is playing on his off-hand side anyway.

Bruins Set the Standard for Accountability

It’s easy to dismiss the Bruins’ woes this series and consider that the team probably wasn’t expected to make a playoff run this season anyway. At the same time, fan and media expectations shouldn’t be the reason for accepting the way this series has gone thus far. From the very beginning, the Bruins’ management group made it clear that the goal was always the playoffs. If this is the case, then a potential first-round exit in embarrassing fashion, including a collapse in the final eight minutes of Game 1 and a no-show in Game 4, cannot be excused so easily.

The Bruins’ future looks bright in some regards with a plethora of first-round picks coming their way, as well as some high-upside building blocks like Hagens, Minten, Will Zellers, Dean Letourneau, Frederic Brunet, Dans Locmelis and more. At the same time, there are a few current roster players who represent more of an obstacle than a solution to the team’s current problems.

Bruins’ Core Pieces With Complicated Futures

Elias Lindholm, signed for another four seasons after this one, offers little beyond faceoffs and depth scoring. He carries a $7.75 million contract through 2030. Hampus Lindholm, also signed through the 2029-30 season, hasn’t been the same since his knee injury. His lack of mobility and acceleration has led to poor decision-making. He carries a $6.5 million cap hit for the next four seasons.

Henri Jokiharju, one of the Bruins’ three right-shot defenders on the roster, hasn’t been able to consistently crack the lineup after signing a three-year, $9 million contract this offseason. To contextualize that, the Bruins are only playing two right-shot defenders this series, and Jokiharju, who carries a $3 million cap hit for each of the next two seasons, still can’t crack the lineup over left-shot players like Mason Lohrei and Jordan Harris, nor can he consistently displace Andrew Peeke.

The Bruins have made an effort to improve and remain in the playoff picture, which is admirable. At the same time, Elias Lindholm already appeared to be on the back end of his career, and the defense just hasn’t been good all season long. The team is lucky to have gotten such strong goaltending from Jeremy Swayman all season, masking the team’s biggest weakness for much of the year.

The Bruins’ practice lines on Monday, preparing for an elimination game in Buffalo, have Mikey Eyssimont stepping in foran injured Viktor Arvidsson, keeping Hagens on the sideline with Reichel still in the lineup. Lohrei was practicing alongside Peeke on the team’s third-pairing, with Nikita Zadorov missing from the session on Monday.

Though Hagens should be in the lineup, the team should at the very least be looking to switch up their lines a little more heading into a game with such dire consequences. There’s no reason the team shouldn’t be giving reps to a line featuring Khusnutdinov and Minten with David Pastrnak, and sliding Lindholm down the lineup. Whether head coach Marco Sturm goes in this direction mid-game again is yet to be seen, but the results when they’re together have been encouraging.

The good news is Sturm did confirm that there will be lineup changes and to not put any stock into the lines from Monday’s practice. The bad news is that these lines probably should have some practice together heading into the game.

This offseason, once again, will be interesting for the Bruins as they look to further build their roster into a bona fide playoff threat while staying true to their long-term plans. This won’t be easy with some big contracts handcuffing the team, and something will have to give. Even if the Bruins win Game 5, these decisions aren’t going away; they’re just being delayed. The hope is that these issues can be mitigated long enough to still make a deep run this season.