Ryan: How 1 hit from Charlie McAvoy permanently tilted ice in Bruins' favor during Game 4 comeback

For all of the piped-in cheers, bass-boosted tracks and other bells and whistles that the NHL has crammed into an empty Scotiabank Arena in the last month, there’s still plenty of cognitive dissonance at work for those actually taking to the sheet of ice up in Toronto. 

Yes, the wall of sound emitting from the speakers within this now-barren barn might try to prove otherwise, but the sterile, artificial atmosphere present within the bubble is still a far cry from the usual environment found in the postseason during the pre-COVID years — in which the sound of skate blades shearing through the ice is regularly drowned out by the chorus of 17,000 raucous fans.

As such, the onus is often on the players themselves when it comes to manufacturing that same spark of excitement up in the bubble.

These days, a snipe into twine on the rush or a spirited scrap at center ice are often enough to get bodies up off the pine and sticks tapping against the boards — a suitable substitute for the usual theatrics and energy a team typically draws from when the calendar flips to postseason hockey.

Jake DeBrusk provided such a spark in the third period of Monday's Game 4 matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes.

After landing just nine shots on goal over 33 minutes of 5v5 ice time through two periods of play, DeBrusk finally gave a B's offense stuck in neutral a necessary jump — chipping a puck past Haydn Fleury and into the Canes' zone. James Reimer, hellbent on preventing another Boston third-period rally, raced out of his crease in an attempt to beat DeBrusk to the skittering biscuit.

DeBrusk managed to get to the prize first, flipping the puck into Carolina's net — no small feat, considering the leaping Bruins' winger had yet to reconnect with the ice by the time he sent off his shot.

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For the first time all night, the Bruins had a buzz brewing on their bench — with Boston now embroiled in a one-goal game with 12:34 remaining in regulation.

After a listless opening 40 minutes of play, DeBrusk's highlight-reel tally was a much-needed espresso shot for Bruce Cassidy's crew. If only they knew what Charlie McAvoy was brewing just a few minutes later.



For as much grief as he received for not lighting the lamp until February, McAvoy doesn't need to be an offensive conduit on Boston's blue line to be a difference-maker for this team. He may not rack up the points accrued by other playmaking defensemen such as Torey Krug, but McAvoy's ability to log heavy minutes, throw his weight around and carry the puck through the neutral zone makes him an invaluable asset on Boston's roster.

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Even if his final line on the scoresheet following Boston's eventual 4-3 comeback victory against the Hurricanes read zero goals, zero assists and two shots on goal in 24:59 of ice time — the 22-year-old skater arguably changed the complexion of the entire contest with a single play in Boston's own zone.

"You have to be able to create your own energy on the bench," McAvoy said. "Going into that third period and obviously you’re down two and the game hadn’t really been in our favor. We had some chances and stuff but we were looking to create some energy and that was kind of the message – that we weren’t out of it."

Just 2:27 after DeBrusk cut Carolina's lead to 2-1, McAvoy found his chance to permanently tilt the ice in his club's favor — with that opportunity taking the form of Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal. McAvoy might lose the tale of the tape when compared to the Hurricanes' two-way center (6-foot-4, 220 pounds), but the B's blueliner had speed and textbook positioning on his side as he attempted to knock the puck off Staal's stick on a Carolina breakout bid.

Staal didn't have a chance. McAvoy popped the Canes veteran with a devastating check, eliciting an audible "WOOOOOOOOO!" from Boston's bench.



Staal, dazed after McAvoy's best impression to date of a freight train, was done for the evening. Boston was just getting started.

"He’s got a lot of meat over there," DeBrusk said of McAvoy. "I didn’t actually see the hit live, but ... the reaction of the bench.  It’s so weird without fans, to be honest with you. Anytime there’s a big play or a good scoring chance, the only way you know is by the bench reaction."

McAvoy's crushing hit not only riled up his teammates, but immediately took the sails out of a Hurricanes team desperately trying to hold onto its slim lead. Just 17 seconds later, that lead was gone — with a strong shift from Boston's fourth line culminating in a snipe from Connor Clifton from the right circle.

1:30 later — Boston had its first lead of the night, with Brad Marchand receiving a gorgeous bank pass from Torey Krug and slipping the puck through Reimer's five-hole.

2:37 after that — Boston gave itself a lead it wouldn't cough up, with DeBrusk scoring his second of the period to make it a 4-2 game.

Without Staal — their defensive stopper up front — the Canes' storm surge faded into little more than a slight breeze. In total, Boston outshot the Hurricanes, 16-2, over the final 20 minutes of play.

"DeBrusk scoring, I mean we're having a really tough time, especially five on five, so that started it for us," Cassidy said. "Now we're back in the game right, we got a chance. And then the McAvoy hit. I think we were playing and we were going to push and we were pushing, so obviously it helps us a lot, but I think it really demoralizes the other team.

"When one of your veteran players, a leader in your room, or really a respected player in this league, takes a good hard clean hit, like I said it affects your group. So it affected us positively and probably them in a negative manner. They lose a guy that's a shutdown centerman and had been doing a real good job against Bergy’s line that game, so for us it really helped."

At one point, it looked as though a banged-up but talented young Hurricanes team — forced to press on without Andrei Svechnikov — was in line to even this series up at two games apiece. But now, following Boston's inspired surge on Monday, Carolina is now hanging on by a thread, with the B's hoping to get top sniper David Pastrnak back into the fold ahead of Wednesday's potential clinching Game 5.

Monday's rally was the byproduct of a number of plays and skaters finally executing in that empty arena up in Toronto, with successful forechecking, tape-to-tape passes, quick reads — and, of course, plenty of mental fortitude — giving Boston a chance to orchestrate its third-period push.

But these series-defining swings and surges all need a single spark to set things off. McAvoy was happy to light the fuse on Monday.

"We have a ton of character in our room," Marchand said. "We didn’t plan on coming back in the first minute of that period. We always say it’s a process and we continue to build every shift and that’s what we did. We just continued to impose our will and play our game. And when we play like that, we’re a tough team to play."