What Mason Lohrei Has Learned From Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy
There is little doubt that Bruins rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei will be part of Boston’s defensive core for years to come.
The 23-year-old Louisiana native may have played only 41 NHL games in the regular season, but his poise in the Stanley Cup playoffs is making it hard for Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery to look past the 6-foot-5 defenseman with the amount of depth Boston has on the blue line.
Lohrei has played in six of the Bruins’ postseason games. He scored his first goal of the playoffs in Boston’s 5-1 Game 1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Monday and had two assists during the opening round against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I think I just try and stay in the moment and be calm,” Lohrei told reporters on Wednesday, per team-provided video. “I don’t know; I’ve kinda always been that way where I want to hold onto the puck and make plays to tape.”
Lohrei continued: “It’s been kind of a ride this year, been up and down in that area, but I feel good now. I just want to keep making plays and playing fast.”
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With each postseason game, Lohrei has displayed more confidence, which has resulted in more ice time, and a spot on the top pair with defensive leader Charlie McAvoy.
“The ultimate 200-foot defenseman,” Lohrei said of McAvoy. “He’s incredible. Just being able to be around him all year has made me so much better. So great defensively. Watching him, that’s a big part of the game I’ve focused on, trying to get better throughout the year.
“Being able to watch him, and even play with him, pretty cool to see and learned a lot. Then, offensively you see what he does. He’s dynamic and definitely a threat out there so it’s been fun.”
Lohrei and the Bruins will try to take the 2-0 series lead over the Panthers in Game 2 on Wednesday night. Puck drop from Amerant Bank Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN. An hour of pre- and postgame coverage can be found on NESN+.