“I want to be known as a guy who is a good two-way defenseman,” said Lindholm, who also entered the game as the club’s top scoring defenseman (4-16–20 in 26 games). “I think the way we play fits my playing style a lot. It’s really fun for me … like I say, you win games by not pulling it out of your own net every night.”
LAS VEGAS — Hampus Lindholm ’s offense has cooled of late, along with all the Bruins’ defensemen, but the Swede entered Sunday night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights tied for the best plus/minus rating in the NHL at plus-21.
Advertisement
New Jersey Devils blue liner Jonas Siegenthaler was tied with Lindholm at plus-21.
Lindholm finished with a career-best best plus/minus of plus-29 in his rookie season in Anaheim (2013-’14), ranking him 12th-best among all NHL skaters and fourth among defensemen.
In his sophomore season with the Ducks, Lindholm dipped slightly to plus-25, tied for No. 11 in the league, and second only to then Tampa Bay’s Jason Garrison (plus-27) among all blueliners.
Get Sports Headlines The Globe’s most recent sports headlines delivered to your inbox every morning. Enter Email Sign Up
“I don’t really check it, personally,” said Lindholm, asked how much attention he pays to the stat. “But I’ve heard people mention it. End of the day, if we win a game, I’ll take that before anything.”
In the Bruins’ most recent Stanley Cup-winning season of 2010-11, captain Zdeno Chara, the premier shutdown defenseman of his era, finished at No. 1 with a fitting plus-33 to match his number.
The following season, Big Z again finished plus-33, best among all NHL blueliners and T3 overall. Five Bruins led the way in the category: Patrice Bergeron (plus-36), Tyler Seguin (plus-34), Chris Kelly (plus-33) and Chara, and Brad Marchand (plus-31).
Ullmark between the pipes
Linus Ullmark, the NHL’s hottest goaltender one-third of the way into the season, was back in net for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman drew the start vs. the Golden Knights last Monday at the Garden and suffered the 4-3 shootout loss that snapped the club’s league-record 14-0-0 streak on home ice from the start of the season.
Advertisement
Ullmark, 15-1-0 when the night began, suffered his lone loss five weeks earlier, a 2-1 trimming by the Maple Leafs on Nov. 5.
He was a career-best 26-10-2 last season with the Bruins under then-coach Bruce Cassidy, who was behind the Vegas bench Sunday night. In his first season with the Bruins, he was 7-5-0 in his first dozen decisions through Dec. 16, then caught fire, winning six in a row and eight of his next 10.
Ullmark entered Sunday night on a run of eight consecutive wins, yielding but 11 goals over that stretch.
Zacha’s slump worth a second look
Bruins left wing Pavel Zacha (3-13–16) entered the night without a goal since Nov. 13 and was 0-0-0 in his last three games, equaling his longest pointless stretch of the season. It’s not the kind of pop that normally would keep someone on the club’s No. 2 line with center David Krejci and right wing David Pastrnak, but he has remained there in part because Taylor Hall, often the club’s No. 2 left wing, has thrived of late on a line centered by Charlie Coyle and often with Trent Frederic at right wing.
In the 10 games prior to Sunday night, Hall had six goals, tied for second on the team in that stretch with Krejci. Pastrnak had 10 goals in those 10 games, including his power-play strike in Friday night’s loss to the Arizona Coyotes.
Advertisement
With Krejci and Pastrnak delivering such solid numbers, coach Jim Montgomery would not necessarily feel compelled to move Zacha off the No. 2 line. But if his production doesn’t beef up, one option could be to slide Jake DeBrusk into that spot, placing him in his natural wing position, and looking at some different fits at right wing on the Bergeron-centered line with Marchand on the left side.
Candidates would include Frederic, succeeding now at his off wing with Coyle, A.J. Greer, or possibly Craig Smith.
Heading for home
The Bruins did not fly home immediately after the game, opting to stay the night and charter back Monday to Hanscom/Bedford.
They face the New York Islanders at the Garden Tuesday night, the first of five consecutive home games, with the rest of the opposition being the Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, and Winnipeg Jets. It’s the club’s longest homestand of the season.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.