Lohrei has been playing with confidence and in fact is the team's top point-getter among defensemen.
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Most of the surprises for the Bruins this season have been of the Door No. 3 variety, the one in “Let’s Make a Deal” where the exuberant contestant, on the verge of striking it rich (“A new car!”), sees the dream disappear in that instant Door No. 3 reveals a live donkey munching on a bale of hay.
Never a good day when that luxury Maserati ends up being Old McDonald’s broken-down mule.
Mason Lohrei has been the exception, one of the few Bruins, along with goalie
Joonas Korpisalo, to outperform expectations.
The 23-year-old defenseman picked up his fourth assist in five games Saturday night’s
2-1 win in Detroit, and began this week as — hold on, analytics geeks — the Bruins’ highest-producing defenseman with a line of 1-7—8.
Granted, that production isn’t about to catapult Lohrei into the Norris Trophy discussion. What’s significant about it, though, is that it’s a tick better than Bruins franchise backliner
Charlie McAvoy (3-4—7) as well as
Hampus Lindholm (3-4—7), the latter of whom
remains on the injured reserved list after taking a shot off the knee Nov. 12.
Worth noting, too, that Lohrei has produced while averaging 17:41 of ice time, ranking him fifth among Boston blue liners. All of which points to the likelihood of Lohrei getting more time, more looks, and, for a team desperate to generate offensive mojo, ideally more points.
“Skating, for me, is No. 1 with Mason,” said interim coach
Joe Sacco. “When he gets his feet moving, whether it’s in our neutral zone, offense, supporting the attack, even defensively, when he’s making his rush reads, getting inside the dots, he’s got his feet moving. He’s just a much more effective player. I think his game follows from his feet.”
Hall of Fame goalie
Gerry Cheevers, who was the Bruins bench boss for 4½ seasons at the start of the ‘80s, constantly preached, “Everything in the game comes from skating.”
Exhibit A: Lohrei, whose long and fluid skating stride, particularly in full flight, shows flashes of
Scott Niedermayer’s style. Niedermayer, his name on the Stanley Cup four times, was smaller and more offensively minded (740 career points) than Lohrei.
“He’s got the skill level to make plays at the offensive blue line,” noted Sacco. “He’s got the skill level to execute on our breakouts. Like any player, but I find especially with him, when he’s moving his feet he’s a much more effective player.
“That’s a challenge with young guys. It’s a hard league. You’re getting pressured a lot. You want to stand still when making plays sometimes. But I think when he’s thinking about [skating], he’s much more of an impact player.”
McAvoy remains the lone point man on the No. 1 power-play unit — a job
he had lost to Lindholm going into the game in which Lindholm was injured. The No. 1 unit, under
Jim Montgomery’s charge, typically had the Bruins employing two defensemen rather than the one point man. Saturday in Detroit, where Lohrei picked up an assist on
Justin Brazeau’s power-play goal, Sacco utilized Lohrei as the defenseman/point man on the unit.
Lohrei played along when a reporter kidded him after Monday’s workout that his uptick in production was a sure sign that he was turning into a puck hog.
“Uh,” he said, his smile broadening, “wouldn’t that be if I was only scoring goals?”
In an era when defensemen, especially those with limited games on the résumé, often are reluctant to risk playing with pace and boldness, Lohrei looks like he relishes the chance to lift his game.
“He has to stay within the framework of the team — especially right now, where we’re trying to get back to a team identity more consistently,” mused Sacco. “But also, you don’t want to take away his offensive side.
“Yeah, we’d like to be scoring more, and I think he’s going to help us do that. If he can focus on the things he needs to control, he’s going to help our team be much more impactful.”