The Boston Bruins made an interesting lineup decision in their 5-2 win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Following Boston’s 7-2 blowout loss to the Ottawa Senators on Monday, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm made some lineup changes on Tuesday. The major change Sturm made was making defenseman Mason Lohrei a healthy scratch and replacing him with Jonathan Aspirot.
Lohrei had gotten off to a slow start to begin the season, and Sturm said the healthy scratch was just about giving the defenseman a reset.
“We expect more from (Lohrei), and sometimes you have to hit that reset button,” Sturm said on Tuesday, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It’s not like we want to bury him. I want to help him and that’s part of the process. He’s done some good things, but too many mistakes lately.”
Lohrei has skated in 11 games this season, recording one goal and five assists. He signed a two-year, $6.4 million extension with the Bruins this offseason, and despite being scratched, will be a key part of the team’s future.
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Aspirot, who replaced Lohrei, made his NHL debut on Tuesday. He played on the third pair with Henri Jokiharju and finished the game with 14:41 of ice time.
“Probably one of the best days of my life,” Aspirot said of making his NHL debut. “I think my brain was going 1,000 miles an hour. Just trying to enjoy the moment. It was great.”
The Bruins are off to a 5-7 start and will host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
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