BOSTON — Before the Bruins ’ 2-1 win over the Hurricanes on Saturday, coach Marco Sturm gave a long, thoughtful answer about about how he hoped Mason Lohrei would handle this stretch of benching.

He wanted the defenseman to be mad, motivated and to come back improved.

In other words, Sturm wanted Lohrei to react just like Casey Mittelstadt did.

Mittelstadt was a healthy scratch for the Bruins’ 3-2 loss in Utah on Oct. 19. He admitted he didn’t like it. But he returned to the lineup two days later and was better.

He’s been improved ever since. On Sunday in the Bruins’ best performance of the still-young 2025-26 season, Boston wouldn’t have beaten the Hurricanes without him.

He scored the game’s first goal early in the third period and then launched Viktor Arvidsson on a breakaway

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