There is a direct correlation between the Bruins playing a winning brand of hockey and Charlie McAvoy completely turning his game back to its usual dominance.
After a rough month of October where the Bruins' No. 1 defenseman was a minus-4 and a slightly better November where he began improving in all areas, McAvoy has been back to his normal self since Joe Sacco took over the Bruins' reigns a couple of weeks ago. McAvoy has two goals and three points with a plus-2 in the six games since the bench change and exploded with a pair of goals and a plus-4 rating to push the Bruins to a 6-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens as they celebrated their Centennial Anniversary at TD Garden.
Passing the Torch 💯
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 2, 2024
The #NHLBruins legends turned things over to the next generation to close out the Centennial celebration.
Re-live the full ceremony ➡️ https://t.co/zkMbV6u4J8 pic.twitter.com/2OZhKizBKe
The image of McAvoy scoring on a shorthanded breakaway and then kissing the Spoked B crest on the front of his jersey is one that will undoubtedly become iconic in Black and Gold lore while doing it in front of greats like Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Phil Esposito and Patrice Bergeron.
Charlie McAvoy doubles down! ✌️
— NHL (@NHL) December 1, 2024
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“I didn’t really know what to expect. There were a lot of special days last year with celebrating the Centennial, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one. But this one might have been my favorite one,” said McAvoy, of the Centennial celebration that officialy closed out the year-long 100-year anniversary celebration and opened up Sunday’s game against the Canadiens. “To see all those guys before the game, we were saying it in [the dressing room]…you shouldn’t need a reminder, but sometimes you get one about how special is to be a member of the Boston Bruins. “And the pride you should have in wearing the same jersey that those guys wore. We really tried to emphasize that [against Montreal] and we were really, really fortunate to win it in front of those guys. I thought we played good tonight. We played physical, but we played with a lot of skill too.”
There was a ton of skill on McAvoy’s tone-setting goal in the first period that kicked off a three-goal outburst in 70 seconds that essentially won Boston the game against a stunned Montreal group.
My goodness, Charlie McAvoy!
— NHL (@NHL) December 1, 2024
That was disgusting 🤢
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Truthfully, though, it’s been about McAvoy playing more of an honest, two-way game that’s put him in position to make more offensive plays. The wraparound score that opened everything up was a fresh McAvoy simply using his natural skating speed to make a skill play at the net, but the shorthanded goal to open the second period started with McAvoy laying out and diving to try and clear the puck out of the defensive zone.
It turned out to be the perfect place to be as the Bruins got control of the puck and freed him for a breakaway bid on his outside skate edges as he tucked a backhander inside the post.
McAvoy was playing a little too much freelance hockey in the first 20 games of the season, and it’s no coincidence that greater individual success as of late has been because he’s paying attention to details and hard work in all three zones.
“It certainly makes a big difference in our group. And I thought he did it the right way tonight. He was following up the play, he was moving his feet, and he was skating in the right direction all the time,” said Joe Sacco. “When he plays like that, we become a hard team to play against. And he kept the game in front of him, which I thought was the most important thing.
“Everything was in front of him, nobody was behind him, and he had a huge impact on that game. When he plays games like that, he is a difference-maker.”
The simple truth with McAvoy, and all these Bruins, is that they’re probably also finally adjusting to some significant roster changes made in the summer. It has taken time for incumbent Bruins players to adjust to impact players like Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Mark Kastelic and Cole Koepke joining the group, and it’s also required a bit of an adjustment period for McAvoy to get used to life without regular partner Matt Grzelcyk after he signed in Pittsburgh.
Whether it’s Mason Lohrei or Zadorov based on the situation on the ice and the time in the game, McAvoy has begun to form a predictable pattern with these defense partners where he can be a ferocious, physical defender and a guy that can occasionally take a calculated risk with the puck to make a play.
Basically, McAvoy is becoming himself again after searching for his game a bit in the opening weeks of this season.
“When [McAvoy] takes over like that, he’s special,” said Brad Marchand. “He’s one of the top defensemen in the league for a reason and he can take over games like he did [against Montreal]. He was on a mission. He’s different than some of the other top ‘D’ because he’s physical, he can transport pucks and shoot it…he does everything. He’s gifted in that area where a lot of guys are just one-dimensional where they’re just power play guys or skill guys.
“But to have one of those guys that can carry a puck, transport it, score, is extremely physical and can defend well, he’s a very dominant defenseman. He showed that [against the Canadiens] and it was great to see.”
The challenge now, of course, is to maintain his current level of two-way play both defending stalwartly and being an offensive catalyst for a team starved for goals. It’s not an easy thing to do nightly while being expected to play 25 minutes a game as a rugged, heavy D-man taking and receiving massive hits from opponents, but it’s something McAvoy has always been able to do with aplomb when he’s at his best.
And make no mistake, the Bruins are going to need McAvoy at his best as they begin rising up the ranks in the Eastern Conference after a sluggish opening 20 games that are looking more like an early season outlier with each passing game.