Charlie McAvoy returns and makes Bruins even stronger
BOSTON -- The Bruins were already a force to start the season. Now they've gotten their best defenseman back in Charlie McAvoy.
The 24-year-old blue liner made an immediate impact in his season debut Thursday night, scoring the eventual game-winning goal in Boston's 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames. McAvoy broke up a 1-1 tie late in the second period, firing in a wrister from the Calgary blue line off a nice feed from Pavel Zacha.
The TD Garden crowd went wild after McAvoy scored, as they did whenever he delivered one of his team-high five hits on the evening. McAvoy, who returned just five months after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, showed very little rust in his 19:18 of ice time.
While rust wasn't part of the equation, nerves certainly were. McAvoy admitted that he as a "big 'ole bundle of nerves" throughout the day on Thursday leading up to his debut, but said he felt great after the game.
"It's exciting to come back, and it's always good to feel those things," McAvoy told reporters. "This is the first time I've come in like this, not having preseason to get ready, so definitely nervous all day today. Excited -- the good kind of nerves. To get out there, I knew I just wanted to play simpler. A couple real quick shifts to get me in, and I felt like it went well."
"He's fun to watch. It's a lot more fun coaching with him than against him," Boston head coach Jim Montgomery said of his No. 1 blue liner. "Just his skating, his ability to create, how many pucks he kept alive in the offensive zone by pinching pucks on walls and then carrying them down and making possession plays."
While the goal and all of those hits were nice, McAvoy was just happy to be part of the mix again. He was sick of greeting his teammates with pre-game high fives while wearing a suit; he wanted to be back in the action in his Spoked-B sweater.
Like teammate Brad Marchand, McAvoy made his return from offseason surgery much earlier than expected. He gave tons of credit to the Bruins medical staff for getting him back in action so quickly.
"TLC, baby! Tender loving care," McAvoy joked. "Confidence, mostly, in where you're at and the hard work that you've done. We have a great group of trainers in there They do an exceptional job, and they take so much pride in what they do.
"As you can see, we all came back early. Significantly early," he added. "It's a lot of hard work from us and them. A lot of days where they don't let you plateau. They keep pushing you forward. It's exciting to get to this day."
The Bruins, who improved to 12-2-0 with Thursday night's win, are now back at full strength. The rest of the NHL has already been on notice, but Boston's hockey team just got even stronger.
