Bruins’ Lohrei should be angry after getting scratched again

Boston Bruins

“He should be very pissed. He should be upset.”

By Conor Ryan

November 1, 2025 | 2:44 PM

2 minutes to read

For the third game in a row, Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei is on the outside looking at the Boston’s lineup for Saturday’s matinee game against the Hurricanes. 

It’s a roster decision motivated by Boston’s recent string of success — with the Bruins 2-0-0 since Hampus Lindholm returned from injured reserve and Lohrei designated as the team’s spare blueliner.

Still, it’s a setback for the 24-year-old Lohrei, who was looking to take a step forward this season after going through some sizable growing pains in the defensive zone this past year.

Speaking ahead of puck drop on Saturday, Bruins coach Marco Sturm was candid about the mindset that Lohrei should take after watching yet another game from the ninth floor of TD Garden. 

“He should be pissed. He should be very pissed. He should be upset,” Sturm said of Lohrei. “He works hard. He’s ready. He just waits for his opportunity. That’s the goal. Having him out there and being a little bit different when he comes back.

“Watching from upstairs, watching some other players, what they do well, what they do wrong too. It’s a learning process for him right now. That’s why we do it.”

While Lohrei’s playmaking capabilities (six points in 11 games) paint the picture of a defenseman with a high ceiling on Boston’s roster, his D-zone struggles at times have been him a square peg in a round hole within Sturm’s depth chart.

Lohrei has spent most of this season skating on a top D pairing next to Charlie McAvoy. That duo had struggled in their own end through 11 games together, with Boston getting outscored, 10-7, in their 120:21 of 5-on-5 ice time together. 

While the return of Lindholm to Boston’s lineup has shored up some of Boston’s D-zone deficiencies, McAvoy has also received a boost with Nikita Zadorov skating as his D partner over the last few games.

Over 55:56 of 5-on-5 ice time together, the Bruins have only given up one 5-on-5 goal when the Zadorov-McAvoy pairing has been out on the ice — with most of those reps coming while matched up against the opposing team’s top players. 

“It’s good. We take pride in defending,” Zadorov said of playing with McAvoy after Thursday’s OT win over Buffalo. “We played the last two games, we played against the top line most of the time. It’s always nice to go against top players of other teams, and I thought we did a good job so far.” 

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.