BOSTON — With just under 13 minutes left in the second period and the Bruins down a goal, Hampus Lindholm collected the puck at the left point with room to approach.
As he moved toward the net, he drew his stick back, loading up for what looked like a slap shot, just inside the top of the faceoff circle. Islander goalie Ilya Sorokin and the defense in front of him reacted accordingly, but Lindholm didn’t shoot.
He’d seen David Pastrnak sliding in from the other side. The fake shot froze the defense long enough to give Pastrnak a clear look when Lindholm fed him the puck. Pastrnak snapped it in to tie the game.
Heading into Tuesday’s win, Lindholm had played just three games (two games and part of one period, really) this season as the Bruin defenseman dealt with a lower-body injury. Tuesday was a reminder of what they had missed.
“My goal was a perfect example of what he sees in the offensive zone,” Pastrnak said.
Lindholm played without restrictions. He manned the power play, killed penalties and skated 22 shifts over 19:03.
“When I’m out there, I don’t really have a second gear,” he said. “If I’m out there, I go full. That’s the way I always play the game.”
If not for his six minutes of penalties, he’d have likely played more.
“I was joking that I had to go to the penalty box to rest my legs a little there,” he said.
His presence allowed everyone else to return to roles they were more suited for.
“It was good to have him back,” Pastrnak said. “You can obviously see the difference he makes on both sides of the ice. Hopefully, he’s going to feel more comfortable and stay healthy.”
Bruins coach Marco Sturm was relieved to have him back.
“I wanted to hug him after the game,” Sturm said. “He was outstanding. He calmed everything down. He made some good plays, good reads. He’s a presence out there. We missed him. We really missed him. It’s great to have him back. He’s a guy we needed.”
Lindholm thought the injury was behind him.
“I’m looking ahead,” he said. “The body feels good. … I hope to play a lot more games and stay in the lineup the rest of the year.”
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