Elias Lindholm came off injured reserve yesterday, and Team Sweden suddenly looks a lot more complete for the Milan Olympics.

The Boston Bruins activated Lindholm from IR, clearing the biggest question hanging over his Olympic availability.

He missed Boston’s final three games before the break with an upper-body injury, and the timing made it feel like a coin flip.

Instead of sitting and waiting, Lindholm ended up suiting up for Sweden in its preliminary-round opener against host Italy.

The Bruins didn’t need a corresponding roster move, either. Boston entered the Olympic break with an open roster spot after reassigning Matthew Poitras to Providence, so the activation was clean.

Lindholm was only ever listed as day-to-day, but IR is still IR, and fans don’t forget that part.

Elias Lindholm was cleared by the Boston Bruins

Sweden is still going to lean on him in the tough parts of the game, the middle of the ice, and the details away from the puck.

For Boston, the bigger picture is minutes. Lindholm has 11 goals and 37 points in 44 games this season, and the Bruins don’t have many players who can replace that two-way load.

International ice can be faster, cleaner, and crueler when your timing is off by half a step.

Not only is this big news for Team Sweden, but it's also really big news for the Boston Bruins.

Lindholm has been a big reason why Boston is sitting where they are right now in the NHL, and coming back from the break with him healthy is going to be huge.

The one big question mark is going to be around Pavel Zacha, though, who wasn't cleared to play at the Olympics, and it's clear Czech is missing him after being shut out by Canada today 5-0.