Ames: Bruins avoided disaster with McAvoy's injury scare against Lightning

You don't know what you've got until it's gone.

That old adage almost became a reality for the Bruins on Thursday after Charlie McAvoy took a hard fall into the boards against the Lightning.

The B's defender got tied up with a Tampa Bay forechecker and collied hard with the boards behind the Bruins net and No. 73 remained down on the ice longer than B's fans would have liked.

Given that McAvoy underwent offseason shoulder surgery, every Black and Gold supporter immediately thought the worst after witnessing the high-speed collision.

Luckily for the Bruins, McAvoy was back on the ice within minutes and looked fine the rest of the game, however any significant injury to McAvoy would have been undeniably deflating.

The 2016 first-round pick is arguably the B's most important defenseman. McAvoy can shut down top opponents while simultaneously scoring highlight-reel goals too. Just go back to his dazzling goal against the Sharks for proof.

McAvoy currently has 30 points in 35 games and highlights a Boston D-corps that also boasts Hampus Lindholm.

Last year's trade deadline pickup has been a revelation for the Bruins as Lindholm leads Bruins defensemen in points (32), while pacing the entire team in plus-minus (plus-34).

Don't forget about Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Clifton, who have each stepped up with big goals this season, while Derek Forbort and Brandon Carlo are used as the B's top penalty-killing pair, and save for Thursday's game in Tampa Bay, have done quite well all year long.

All of that goes out the window if McAvoy is gone. 

Now, the Bruins managed without their star blueliner while he was rehabbing from his surgery earlier this season, but the B's had time to prepare for that.

An injury during the middle of the season is different because now all of a sudden, head coach Jim Montgomery is trying to decide new pairs for all of his defensemen and seeing which ones have the best chemistry. In short, nobody is prepared to play without a player of McAvoy's caliber.

From McAvoy's persepective, avoiding serious injury was huge for his development too as he continues to flourish offensively. 

Last season, the Long Beach native set career highs in goals (10) and assists (46) in 78 games played after hovering around the 30-point mark during the first four seasons of his career.

The right-shot rearguard has also made his mark on the man-advantage the past two seasons, securing 21 power-play points last year, and 16 so far this season.

McAvoy will likely break his career-best point total this season, should he play in all 34 games remaining, and will round out a rather stacked D-corps.

Sometimes it takes a near-miss to see just how good things are going.