Bruins' Charlie McAvoy has MCL injury, out at least four weeks

Boston Bruins rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy suffered a left MCL sprain and will miss at least four weeks, the team announced Tuesday morning. He suffered the injury only 37 seconds into Saturday's 2-1 overtime victory over the Montreal Canadiens at TD Garden.

From BSJ's Dr. Jessica Flynn:

"This indicates a significant sprain of the ligament. Moderate sprains are generally 4-to-6 weeks. Treatment in a brace initially, therapy, in-line exercise and eventually change of direction. Tough blow for the team but not a long-term issue for the young Bruin."



BSJ's on-ice analysis:

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy understands that the team dodged a bullet and there's a strong possibility McAvoy will be ready for the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“It could’ve been worse,” Cassidy said. “It didn’t look that bad when it happened, but we’ll be without Charlie for a little bit but we’ve got lots of depth and he will be back. I can’t tell you exactly when, but hopefully he heals quick and keeps his conditioning up. . . hopefully he comes back completely healthy and ready to go.”

McAvoy made his NHL debut last season during the Stanley Cup playoffs and that experience will help. It's not like he'll miss the stretch run and then be thrust into his first postseason.

“He has been through it once, so he knows the value of playing at that time of the year. It does help him,” Cassidy said. “It allows us a little comfort that if he doesn’t get a lot of time before, and is ready just come playoff time, that he has been through it.”

The positive spin is McAvoy will get a bit of a break before the Stanley Cup playoffs. It also allows others some playing time to stay sharp in case their services are needed in the postseason. McAvoy has played a lot of hockey over the last calendar year, so this brief hiatus could pay dividends during the playoffs if the Bruins go on a deep run.

Alternate captain Patrice Bergeron, who is out with a broken foot, has been through similar situations and the team wants to make sure he speaks with McAvoy so he's ready once he's cleared to play.

“Clearly, Bergy knows what to expect coming out of (his injury). We’ll get him to talk to Charlie about what to do between now and then, so that you don’t drop off," explained Cassidy. "It’s natural when you don’t play this time of year, especially when the intensity goes up, you’re going to lose a little bit of your edge, so he’s got to find a way to keep his conditioning and keep mentally sharp doing this stretch of time.”

With McAvoy out, Cassidy has options with the seven healthy defensemen. Here are the pairings for Tuesday's game agains the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden.

Zdeno Chara-Brandon Carlo

Torey Krug-Nick Holden

Matt Grzelcyk-Kevan Miller

It appears Holden will remain in the lineup and switch between the left and right side, depending on the matchups. He'll remain on the second power-play unit and Cassidy has talked with Krug, who runs the first unit, about the possibility of extended his minutes and helping the second unit too when needed. To start, Grzelcyk and Danton Heinen will remain in the second PP.

Veteran defenseman Adam McQuaid has become the odd-man out now that the team has defensive depth. Tonight will be the fifth game in the last six that he's been a healthy scratch.

“Adam's the ultimate pro, so there's outward emotion, but inside I know it's tearing him apart not to be out there," Cassidy said. "We have games every second night now, so Adam will get back in the lineup and we're going to need everybody and he knows that. He wants to play and that's the tough part of the job. I had to tell Noel (Acciari) this morning (he's scratched) and the guy will go through the wall. so those are the lousy parts of the job but they understand what's at stake here and they just have to be ready when their numbers are called."

Dr. Jessica Flynn is a sports medicine physician at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, MA. She writes about injuries in professional sports on her blog, DocFlynn.com. You can follow her on Twitter @jessdeede.

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