Forbort Out, Lohrei Recalled
The Bruins placed Derek Forbort on long-term injured reserve on Thursday morning as he continues to deal with a lower-body injury that has plagued him for most of the season. With Forbort expected to be sidelined for at least a few weeks, rookie blue liner Mason Lohrei was recalled from Providence.
"It's a lower-body injury since training camp…I think at one point we gave him five days off and it was doing well,” said coach Jim Montgomery. “But the nine games in 16 days, just the repetitive demands on the body, it's come back and we're going to give them a little extended time to try and nip this for the rest of the year.”
After playing 10 games with Boston last month, Lohrei was sent down following the B’s Black Friday game against Detroit. He played three games during his recent stint with Providence, notching two assists.
“That he's been doing really well,” Montgomery said of the reports from Providence. “He was really dominant the first week he was back and was not as dominant this weekend, but still helped the team win some hockey games. We know what he's done for us here and how good he's been.
“And we're excited to see where he's at in his development stage and how much he's going to help us like he did last time we played Buffalo.”
Lohrei said the message from the Boston coaching staff and management upon his departure was for him to be more assertive on the defensive side of the puck.
“I think it's just a day-by-day thing. No matter where I am,” said Lohrei. “I'm just trying to work on the things I need to work on. Closing hard, being physical, defensive stuff, playing quick.”
The 22-year-old will skate alongside veteran Kevin Shattenkirk on Boston’s third pair against the Sabres.
“We've played together within games, we haven't been paired yet on the sheet, but we've definitely taken shifts together,” said Lohrei. “He's played so many games and is such a great player. He's an unbelievable guy to learn from and talk to on the bench. So, I've definitely utilized his knowledge and tried to pick his brain. It should be good.”
With Forbort out, Montgomery said the Bruins will rely more heavily on Hampus Lindholm and Matt Grzelcyk on the penalty kill.
“Lindy will go in the first pairing, and Grizzy has done a really good job here this year being ready in practice,” said Montgomery. “He's done a great job of running the right routes. And we think he's going to do a good job for us, so he's going to be the second left shot pairing out there.
“And then Lohrei has killed some already this year, so we're now got three left shots to play tonight.”
