Charlie McAvoy was back in the Bruins lineup Tuesday night in San Jose, ending a six-game suspension just as Boston opened its annual California trip against the Sharks. The game carried an 11 p.m. puck drop, and the return immediately changed the look of the defense as the Bruins began the first stop on a four-game swing.
McAvoy said he was happy to be back, and the timing mattered because Boston entered the trip with a 4-2 start to the NHL season and a defense group deep enough to force choices. On Monday at the SAP Center, Hampus Lindholm skated on the top pairing with McAvoy, Nikita Zadorov worked with Will Borgen, and Frederic Brunet was with Mason Lohrei, a set of combinations that showed how many options Marco Sturm had to sort through.
That sort was not painless. Connor Clifton, who led the Bruins in ice time in Saturday’s win over Philly, was projected to come out of the lineup and head to the press box, while Jonathan Aspirot had already been a scratch for three games. Sturm called the decisions tough but said they had nothing to do with players not performing, adding that the club was comfortable as of Tuesday and might need all of them before the trip ends.
The crowded blue line has been part of Boston’s early story. The Bruins had eight useful blue liners on the roster, and with Henri Jokiharju and Jordan Harris in Providence, the club still had enough depth to create a different pairing mix almost every night if needed. Mason Lohrei added another wrinkle by scoring an insurance goal against the Flyers and finishing with goals in his last two games, a run that has strengthened his place in the conversation even as the Bruins weigh who stays in and who sits.
For now, the answer is that McAvoy’s return is the headline and the rest is still in motion. Boston still has Anaheim, Los Angeles and Dallas ahead on a road trip that can test every layer of a lineup, and the next few games will show whether the top pairing stays intact or whether Sturm keeps adjusting as the Bruins try to navigate the West Coast with a full, crowded defense.
