Boston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm has sustained a lower-body injury, coach Jim Montgomery confirms.Montgomery spoke to the media following practice on Wednesday. He told the reporters:“Hampus is … lower-body injury. It’s going to be weeks.”Montgomery added:“That’s weeks, in plural. So, don’t ask me next week.”The comment underscored the fact that Lindholm will be expected to miss considerable time for the Boston Bruins. Hampus Lindholm sustained the injury during the first period of the Boston Bruins' tilt with the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.Lindholm, who is in the first year of a seven-year, $54 million contract, suffered the injury while blocking a shot from the Blues’ Justin Faulk. Lindholm skated off the ice and subsequently went to the dressing room. He did not return for the second period. The Bruins later confirmed that Lindholm would be out for the remainder of the game.The 30-year-old is the second Boston blueliner to go down with injuries this season. Andrew Peeke is also out, leaving the Bruins with five NHL blue-liners on the roster. As such, the club will be looking to add another D-man to the roster.Most likely, an AHL call-up should fill Hampus Lindholm’s spot ahead of the Bruins’ tilt with the Dallas Stars on Thursday. While it’s likely Lindholm will go on LTIR, there’s no update on that situation at this time.Mason Lohrei to step up in Hampus Lindholm’s placeLindholm is a top-four defenseman for the Bruins. He’s a minute-muncher and delivers solid offensive performance. With Lindholm out, Mason Lohrei should step up to fill the void. Loheir has been skating on the bottom pairing with Parker Wotherspoon.With Hampus Lindholm’s injury, Lohrei should jump into the second pairing with Brandon Carlo, leaving the left side open on the third pairing. Ian Mitchell or Jordan Oesterle could get a call-up from the AHL Providence Bruins to cover on the third-pairing.It’s worth pointing out that the Bruins had only six defensemen on the active roster due to salary cap constraints. However, if Lindholm goes on LTIR, that would open enough cap space for the Bruins to call up multiple blueliners, giving the team more depth on the back end.According to PuckPedia, the Bruins currently have about $2.4 million in available cap space. That situation means the Bruins won’t need to put Lindholm on LTIR. But if the club did so, the additional cap space could offer more flexibility moving forward.Boston is sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division with 18 points. The club is two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for second.
