The Boston Bruins were eliminated from the playoffs on Friday, falling to the Buffalo Sabres four games to two in their first-round series. On Sunday, the team hosted its Breakdown Day with reporters, and the players revealed they were dealing with some pretty significant injuries.
“A broken rib and a little puncture on the lungs,” Viktor Arvidsson said, seemingly downplaying the injury. “It was hard to come back that quickly. It was unfortunate but part of the game.”
The Swedish forward got hurt in Game 4 and missed Games 5 and 6 against the Sabres. Despite the severity of his injuries, he had hoped to be available if the Bruins could force a Game 7.
“I just loved the group we had,” Arvidsson said. “We had so much fun together.”
Per the Cleveland Clinic, full recovery from a punctured lung typically takes 6 to 8 weeks, though minor cases, like in Arvidsson’s situation, may heal in 1-2 weeks. “Strict rest” is prescribed, usually for the first few days to a couple of weeks, followed by an avoidance of strenuous activity, heavy lifting, and air travel —- AKA everything entailed in an intense Stanley Cup Playoffs series.
Bruins superstar David Pastrnak dealt with a small groin tear that he originally suffered in November.
“I did have injury, yeah,” Pastrnak said. “I think it was just a little groin. I don’t know what you call it, tear or torn. I don’t know the difference. I had this thing in November and it came back a little earlier. Battled mentally a lot with that as a player because we just tried remember that pain for a while when that happened. Struggled with that for a little bit but I would say for past month, last month, I was much better mentally with the skating and more confident. It was only thing. Throughout the playoffs, I say I was healthy.”
Pastrnak suited up in 77 games during the regular season, posting 100 or more points for the fourth-straight season. Pastrnak had the third-most goals on the Bruins (29) and led the team in assists (71) during the regular season. In the team’s first-round series, he led the team in scoring with seven points (3g, 4a) in six games, including a huge goal in Game Six.
David Pastrnak goal in Game 6
Charlie McAvoy’s face took a beating this season.
The star Bruins defenseman suffered a fractured jaw and lost multiple teeth after being struck by a Noah Dobson slapshot on November 15, 2025.
Charlie McAvoy takes slapshot to the face
He got elbowed in the face during a bad hit by Panthers’ Sandis Vilmanis on February 4.
Then, on March 4, he took a deflected puck off the face before losing more teeth on March 10 after a hit from behind into the glass.
While McAvoy’s face avoided more damage in the postseason, he suffered another painful injury.
“I gotta get some stuff done right now,” McAvoy said. “I broke my hand in Game 2 so I got that appointment tomorrow. I got some MRIs … I gotta see what kinda dental work I have planned… Some makeovers this summer. Hopefully, I’ll be a little more whole.
Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm played through a fractured foot during the back half of the season. Though Lindholm was encouraged he played in 67 regular-season games and every game of the postseason during the 2025-26 campaign after dealing with two major knee injuries and only appearing in just 17 games the year before.
“Obviously, it was hard last [season] being sidelined with two major knee surgeries,” Lindholm said. “Put in a lot of work in the summer to really get back to the level that I hold myself to. Had some bumps and bruises (this year). Had a little small fracture on my foot there around Christmas that’s been a little something that’s nagging me a little bit, but it’s starting to heal back now, so I can get back to that final process of hopefully have a full summer of training normally.”
Bruins forward Elias Lindholm was in the second year of dealing with a back injury he initially suffered during the offseason he signed with the Bruins.
“Going over there (to the Milan-Cortina Olympics), my body was not great, but I battled through,” Lindholm, who suited up for Team Sweden, said. “I came back (to the Bruins) and you know, kinda kept grinding and couldn’t find the confidence or stuff like that to play my game. It was tough.”
Lindholm got at least one back injection during the season, including one before heading to Italy in February. When asked if he ever felt 100 percent this season, Lindholm laughed and said, “Early on, yeah.”
While those injuries are eyebrow-raising, Nikita Zadorov takes the, uh, “get well soon-themed” cake. The Bruins defenseman revealed that he played with a fully torn MCL, detached from the bone, for the final four games of the playoff series.
“I torn my MCL in Game 3, fully torn off the bone, so I played with it a little bit,” Zadorov said per NESN.
Indeed, he did. Zadorov averaged over 20 minutes of ice time per game and registered 17 hits and 37 penalty minutes in the series.
While the knee injury will impact his off-season training, it’s believed Zadorov will be fully healthy for the start of the 2026-27 season.
“He’s a warrior,” Bruins head coach Marco Sturm said. “Hearing it from the medical department, they had never seen anything like it.”
The Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin noted that none of the players used the injuries as excuses for their performance.
“Everybody poured everything they had into this season,” McAvoy said.
