Bruins recall rookie defenseman as Andrew Peeke goes down with injury

The Boston Bruins have recalled rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei from the Providence Bruins. This move comes after head coach Jim Montgomery designated defender Andrew Peeke as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury suffered in Game 2, shares Joe Haggerty of the Boston Sports Journal. Peeke left with seven minutes left in the second period after blocking a Tyler Bertuzzi shot with his left hand. Peeke isn’t expected to travel with the team when they head to Toronto for Games 3 and 4.

Despite Lohrei’s recall, Parker Wotherspoon is expected to gain a role in Peeke’s absence. Wotherspoon played in half of Boston’s games this season, recording eight assists and 31 points. The matches brought his career total to nine assists in 53 games, though the 26-year-old defender is still searching for his first goal. He’ll be stepping into his first career Stanley Cup playoff game if he does fill in for Peeke.

Lohrei will instead provide exciting depth for Boston, having scored four goals and 13 points in the first 41 games of his NHL career this season. He added 16 points in 21 AHL games. The flashy 23-year-old is off to a hot start in his first full year of professional hockey and even got a glimpse of pro playoffs when he appeared in three Calder Cup Playoff games last season. He’ll join Wotherspoon and Derek Forbort as Boston’s extra defenders, with the latter being recalled from a conditioning stint on Monday. Forbort has the most experience of the trio, having played in 496 regular-season games and 32 playoff games across his nine-year NHL career.

The trio will compete for Peeke’s third-pair role on the blue line. The trade deadline acquisition played in 17 minutes of ice time in Game 1 but was limited to just 10 minutes in Game 2 due to his injury. He’s also playing in the first Stanley Cup playoff games of his career, still searching for his first postseason point. Peeke had a strong stint in Boston’s last 15 games of the season, where he looked entirely the part of the stout defender Boston wanted at the deadline. The Bruins will have a few options to replace him over the next two games, though making the wrong decision could prove costly against a daunting Maple Leafs offense.