After shaking off rust, Charlie McAvoy looks to jumpstart slumping Bruins offense

Charlie McAvoy was candid when discussing his return to the ice on Thursday night.

Knocked out of commission for 20 games and close to seven weeks of action, the 20-year-old defenseman knew that there was going to be plenty of rust to shake off during Thursday’s tilt with the Lightning.

And as expected, McAvoy took some time settling into a groove back on the blue line.

A miscue in the opening stanza led to Brayden Point’s 21st goal of the season, as McAvoy slipped while attempting to clear the puck — with one of his three giveaways on the night leading to a Lightning tally just seconds later.

It wasn’t a perfect outing from McAvoy, nor from the team as a whole following a 3-2 loss — Boston’s third consecutive defeat in regulation.

But it’s easy to spot the impact that having No. 73 back on the ice has for a Bruins team in desperate need of a lift.

“First period was tough, trying to shake some rust off. Kind of stepped on a puck there, that’s how it goes sometimes,” McAvoy said. “When you’re not rusty sometimes you can get bad bounces, but second and third I thought I kind of came together and started to play my brand of hockey.”

McAvoy’s extended absence was a tough pill to swallow for a D corps still without Zdeno Chara and dealing with a slew of other ailments over the past month. But Bruce Cassidy has harped on how the loss of McAvoy has left Boston’s slumping offense rudderless at times.



McAvoy is still not a one-man offensive dynamo in the offensive zone (just nine shots on goal through eight games), but where the young defenseman’s greatest value lies right now is his first-pass execution and his ability to generate transition for a team struggling to gain clean entries and good looks when skating on the rush.

Labeling McAvoy as a “one-man breakout” last week, Cassidy was pleased with what Boston’s youngest defenseman brought in his return — especially as the game went on.

Even with the slow start, McAvoy ranked second among all Bruins blue liners with 21:02 TOI on Thursday — adding another weapon on Boston’s second power-play unit at the point while logging two shots on goal, two hits and a block.

"I thought Charlie was good. I thought he was rusty handling the puck at times. I fully expect that. Perfectly normal,” Cassidy said. “I was just happy to see he had conviction in this game, wanted to be a difference maker. That's all I was concerned about. How's he going to react from being out. There's going to be obvious rust, but how is his assertiveness, so to speak, and I thought it was very good."



The Bruins are going to need McAvoy to be assertive with the puck on his stick, especially with the club floundering with a 1-4-0 record in its last five outings. Boston’s offense was largely able to stay afloat following McAvoy’s concussion thanks to a potent top line with Patrice Bergeron in the middle and a power play operating at close to a 30 percent clip.

But with Bergeron sidelined with a rib/clavicle injury for a couple more weeks and Boston’s man advantage out of sorts (1-for-12 over last three games), the Bruins will have to rely on a puck mover like McAvoy to get the rest of the team going and establish some zone time in the offensive zone.

While Boston’s total Corsi For Percentage was only slightly better with McAvoy in the lineup (52.92) than with him sidelined (52.8), the Bruins' Shots For Percentage also dipped with McAvoy out of the lineup (51.4), as opposed to the 53.29 mark from the start of the season when he had a clean bill of health.

Now, holding the edge in shots on goal clearly isn’t the ultimate determinant in the current status of a team’s offense. After all, the Bruins has held the edge in shots on goal in four of their last five games — and only have two points to show for it.

But McAvoy’s skill once the puck is in the offensive zone, such as when it comes to opening up seams as he skates the tightrope along the blue line, could go a long way in Boston’s efforts to generate quality looks in Grade-A areas.

"Where we need more is the low to highs,” Cassidy said. “It goes up to the D. We're really struggling to get those shots. It's almost ironic that David Krejci gets it through and gives us a chance. We need a little bit more there.

“And we've talked about that on a regular basis.  Be active out there, find your shooting lane. We'll keep on trying to drill that message home. That's an area of our game offensively, when you're not scoring on a regular basis, you can be productive. I think Charlie back in the lineup helps that. You saw him moving along the blue line a little more, it opens up some seams.”

Much like the Bruins’ offense, McAvoy’s game is still very much a work in progress. But given his play over the final 40 minutes of regulation, Boston has to be encouraged with what the skilled defenseman can already bring to the ice after such an extended absence.

“I thought second and third (period), I kind of let my brain and my skills all take over and I was able to play what I thought was good hockey and I’ll continue to grow in that,” McAvoy said. “Just what a win in itself to be back out there with these guys. We’re a family and I miss these guys a heck of a lot when I’m out. Unfortunate loss but encouraging effort there at the end. We never said die and nobody quit. We can take away from that.”