Elias Lindholm's injury has Marco Sturm uneasy, and the Boston Bruins may be staring at a brutal hole down the middle.

Tuesday's 3-2 overtime win over the Nashville Predators should've been a feel-good bounce.

Instead, the night ended with everyone waiting on medical testing.

Lindholm left with an upper-body injury in the second period and headed down the tunnel after missing a rotation.

After the game, Sturm had almost nothing to give.

Sturm said Lindholm will undergo testing Wednesday morning, and they'll know more after that.

That “tomorrow we'll know” line is never what you want to hear.

It usually means the trainer didn't like what he saw on the first look.

He's been driving Boston's push lately, not just filling space.

Lindholm is sitting at 11-26-37 on the season, and those are top-line numbers for this roster.

He's also been on a heater, with six goals and 14 points over Boston's last 14 games.

That's why this feels bigger than “one guy out.”

Elias Lindholm matters to the Boston Bruins right now

Bruins fans were finally starting to trust the top six again, and this kind of injury scare hits like a cold splash.

When Lindholm is rolling, David Pastrnak gets cleaner looks, and the power play stops feeling frantic.

Without him, the trickle-down is nasty, tougher matchups, thinner center depth, and more defensive-zone faceoffs for everyone else.

Yes, Boston still found the win, with Pastrnak ending it 15 seconds into overtime.

But the win doesn't erase the worry.

The Bruins can survive a short absence.

If the testing comes back ugly, it changes what “contending” even looks like over the next few weeks.