Lindholm shakes off illness

Hampus Lindholm was “not feeling well” when he reported for work Thursday morning, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said, and was sent home.

However, the topflight defenseman was in the starting lineup and played 22 minutes against the Kings, who edged the Bruins, 3-2, in a shootout at TD Garden. Lindholm, skating of late on the No. 1 pair with Charlie McAvoy, began the night with Connor Clifton. McAvoy rode with Derek Forbort.

The Bruins were outscoring teams, 25-14, with Lindholm on the ice at five on five, according to Natural Stat Trick. That goals-for percentage (64.1) is tied for 21st among regular defensemen (those who have played at least 200 minutes at five at five).

Montgomery said Lindholm (22:00, one shot) was “even better than good enough.”

Lindholm, who has a 4-16–20 line in 29 games and is logging more than 24 minutes a night, has played in every game. It also meant another night off for Jakub Zboril, who participated in the morning warmup as Clifton’s partner. The Czech backliner hasn’t played since Nov. 23 in Florida, and saw most of his action while McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk were sidelined early (1-0–1 in 13 games). Zboril skated in 10 games last season before tearing his ACL on Dec. 2 in Nashville.

His game, pockmarked with turnovers and shaky confidence, has been as spotty as his lineup appearances. Montgomery expected Zboril would be excited to play off the energy of a home crowd, but didn’t sound eager to use him against the Kings’ best.

“I think when you’re coming back from reconstructive knee surgery and you haven’t been a full-time NHL player,” Montgomery said, “you can tell yourself, ‘Be aggressive, be assertive, don’t be afraid to make mistakes,’ but our own thoughts do creep in.

“It’s hard for a player to have the confidence to go play. You’ve got to earn it, especially in this league.”

Zboril struggled in his last outing, that 5-2 loss to the Panthers three weeks ago. He logged 7:17 and was benched for the third period, after the Panthers made it 2-1 and 3-1 with him on the ice.

“Definitely really hard mentally coming back after surgery and wanting to play,” Zboril said after the morning skate. “Not being in the lineup is really tough. But still, I have to do my job and be ready for games. I’m ready for tonight.”

Yet Zboril, 25, was a scratch again. He is trying to find his confidence while sitting for extended stretches.

“For me, I always struggle a bit when I make a mistake and I don’t get the next shift right away,” he said. “I keep thinking about it. I have to manage my emotions tonight and I think I’ll be able to handle it.”

Lindholm’s absence at the morning skate saw Forbort paired with McAvoy. The Kings drafted Forbort 15th overall in 2010, and he spent his first four-plus seasons with them. He expected loquacious ex-teammate Drew Doughty to “chirp” him in warm-ups.

Forbort feels that McAvoy, who finished fourth in the Norris Trophy voting last season, has a similar game to Doughty, who won the Norris in Forbort’s rookie season (2015-16).

“I remember talking to Deano [former assistant Kevin Dean] about it last year, about how [they’re] so similar,” Forbort said. “Neither one gives up anything defensively to create offensively for themselves. They both just make really good plays with the puck. They’re two of the best two-way defensemen in the league, for sure.”

Grzelcyk near the top

The third-best goals-for percentage among NHL defensemen belongs to Grzelcyk, who has been on the ice for 19 goals at five on five and six against (76 percent). Boston’s entire six-pack slots in the top 25, including Brandon Carlo (ninth, 15-7, 68.2 percent), McAvoy (T12th, 12-6, 66.7 percent), Lindholm, (Clifton (T-21st, 25-14, 64.1 percent), and Forbort (T-24th, 15-9, 62.5 percent). In 13 games, Zboril has played 148 minutes at five on five, the Bruins outscored, 7-5, when he’s on the ice (41.7 percent) . . . David Krejci’s return bumped Craig Smith out of the forward group, and reunited the Czechia Line (Pavel Zacha-Krejci-David Pastrnak). Krejci is over his lower-body issue, Montgomery said, but noted that “a few players,” Krejci included, need ongoing maintenance. Krejci (17:26, 2 for 10 on faceoffs) said he felt “good enough.” . . . Jake DeBrusk moved back to the No. 1 right wing spot. Taylor Hall skated the No. 3 left wing . . . Montgomery has the habit of keeping his starting goalie a secret until puck drop. Asked Thursday morning what number that night’s netminder would wear, he replied, “1 [or] 35.” Linus Ullmark drew his third start in a row.