Mason Lohrei still has Marco Sturm in his corner, even after two late errors put the Bruins in a bad spot on consecutive nights.

That matters in Boston right now. Sturm, Boston's head coach, didn't dodge the moment after Lohrei's rough stretch. He met it head-on and made it clear the young defenseman isn't getting left out to dry.

The story changed fast because Lohrei had been giving the Bruins strong minutes coming out of the Olympic break. His recent work with Hampus Lindholm had started to settle things down on the blue line before the last 2 games reopened old questions.

Tuesday against Toronto was the first swing. With Boston up 1-0 in the second period and on the power play, Lohrei lost a puck battle at center ice, and Matthew Knies took off the other way to tie it. The Bruins went on to lose 4-2.

Then came Buffalo, and it got worse. Boston carried a 2-1 lead into the third when Lohrei turned the puck over at the defensive blue line, and Zach Benson cashed in to tie the game.

Moments later, Lohrei took a cross-checking penalty on Benson, and Buffalo scored on the ensuing power play 33 seconds later for a 3-2 lead. It was the kind of sequence that can bury a young defenseman in this market.

Sturm chose support over blame

Sturm didn't pretend the mistakes were small. He said Lohrei knows he messed up and still needs to finish the job, but he also stressed the Bruins will help him through it instead of making him wear the whole thing alone.

That's a real coaching choice. A bench boss can send a message with ice time, with public heat, or with trust. Sturm went with trust, and that tells you the Bruins still see Lohrei as part of the answer.

It also tells you Boston isn't interested in letting 1 ugly stretch erase a full season of progress. Young defensemen usually learn the hard way, and Lohrei just got a loud reminder of how thin the line is late in a game.

The Bruins still need cleaner puck management from him. They need stronger decisions at the blue line and fewer panic plays when the pressure ramps up. That part isn't optional this late on the schedule.

But this wasn't a public takedown from Sturm. It was a firm reset. Boston's coach saw the mistake, named it, and still backed the player.

Now the next step belongs to Lohrei. The Bruins don't need him to play scared. They need him to clean it up, hold his ground, and show that 2 bad nights won't push him off track.