It hasn't exactly gone according to plan.
Lindholm missed seven games with a lower-body injury from April 5-23 and left Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round after a collision with Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov. Add that to McAvoy entering NHL COVID-19 protocol ahead of Game 4 on Sunday and the prospects looked to be dimming for the Bruins.
But the Bruins managed to fight back without their top two defensemen, defeating the Hurricanes 5-2 to even the best-of-7 series 2-2. And it's something they may be facing again in Game 5 at PNC Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, BSSO, NESN).
Lindholm practiced Monday at Warrior Ice Arena ahead of the trip to Carolina.
"He's skating today," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I'll get an update on him from the medical team. I'm not going to rule him out, but I'm not putting him in either right now.
"If he's cleared, he's in. If he's not, then we'll list him as probable for the next game. But the fact he's out there skating is always a positive sign."
McAvoy is "feeling better," Cassidy said. "So that's a positive."\
RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs Bruins series coverage]
Without Lindholm and McAvoy, the Bruins used Matt Grzelcyk and Brandon Carlo as their top pair, moved Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton to the second pair, and played Mike Reilly and Josh Brown as the third. It was neither an optimal lineup nor the way Boston wanted to go into a game it absolutely needed to win.
"How are you going to replace McAvoy? Well, you can't just give someone an extra eight minutes and say, 'OK, that's what Charlie does, you've got to do it,'" Cassidy said. "I don't think that's fair. It's unrealistic. So it's more about, OK, each one of you guys might get an extra minute and a half here, take advantage of it and don't try to be something you're not.
"We're going to be a little bit scruffy at times but manage the risk-reward. I thought they did a good job with that. They didn't try to replace what was missing. They just played to their strength."
Forbort and Clifton, especially, have been a welcome surprise. Forbort's nine blocks were key to a Game 3 win that got the Bruins back into the series. Clifton played 20:16 in Game 4, the highest total by a defenseman in a game that was almost evenly split between the top four (Carlo, 19:32; Grzelcyk, 19:12; Forbort, 19:07).
"Obviously no one's going to replace what Charlie brings to the table and the minutes he plays," Clifton said. "So collectively we all pick up a couple minutes here and there and play the best game we can as the six D that are in."
Cassidy praised Clifton's physicality and ability to annoy opponents with hits, and Forbort's penalty killing and shot blocking. He praised them for sticking to their strengths and playing within their games.
"I think they also look around -- Lindholm's not in, McAvoy's not in -- someone's got to step up," Cassidy said. "Why not me?"
It's something Clifton has done his whole career, Cassidy noted.
"We're playing good," Clifton said. "We're playing fast. We're defending hard. We're playing hard. Honestly, it's been going really well for us. Kind of just got to keep that up, that energy."
The Bruins have been particularly successful on the penalty kill with the Hurricanes 0-for-10 on the power play the past two games. They have also limited their point shots, a way that Carolina can often get its offense going.
"The adjustments I feel we've made is we're closing quicker on their point men, going out with their stick out, so they don't have as much time to deception plays to find the shooting lane," Cassidy said. "They've got to get it off quicker. I think the blocked shot totals show you a little more of a commitment in our team at home here the last two games to prevent those pucks from even getting to those areas."
The Bruins had 29 blocked shots in Game 3 and 15 in Game 4. They would still like to cut down on the offensive zone time the Hurricanes are getting, something Cassidy said might be possible by closing off plays down low quicker. There are adjustments they can make while using a defense that will be without McAvoy and could be without Lindholm in Game 5.
It's not optimal, but so far, they're making it work.
