McAvoy puts hammer down
The first half of Charlie McAvoy’s season did not go the way anyone would have wanted. He missed nearly two months with a concussion and then another three weeks with a foot infection. By Jan. 12, McAvoy had played a grand total of 17 games.
There were grumbles among the what-have-youdone-for-me-lately crowd. His minimal impact on the B’s fortunes had a few crazies even willing to include him in a trade package that would bring back that longcoveted sniper.
But if the weekend proved anything, it is this: Chuckie Mac is back.
In Saturday’s 5-4 overtime win over the Kings, McAvoy had a goal and an assist and was plus-2. And in yesterday’s grinding 2-1 OT victory against the Colorado Avalanche, McAvoy might have been even better. In a gamehigh 25:34, he picked up an assist on John Moore’s tying goal. But more than that, he put his imprint on the game with his physicality, skating and determination to be a difference-maker.
McAvoy and Zdeno Chara drew the assignment — along with the line of Noel Acciari, Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner — of defending against Colorado’s explosive line of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. MacKinnon scored the Avs’ lone goal on a perfect shot at the end of a power play late in the first period, but the line was kept off the board the rest of the way.
“(McAvoy) was really good (Saturday), kind of demanded the puck, very assertive in his play, good decision-making (Sunday), he was physical as well,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “It was a tough matchup him and Z had. That’s one of the best lines in the National Hockey League. They did a real good job against them the last two periods. So did (Noel) Acciari’s line. They put their work in today and Charlie was a big part of that. You still want to have the puck, too and he was good with transitioning it. Even though you’re defending those guys — and they have world class speed, size, shots — one of the best ways to defend it is to keep the puck, have pos- session and force them to check and he was a big part of that in the transition game.”
He was credited with three hits, but they all seemed to have an impact, none more than the second period belt on Matt Nieto. The B’s were down 1-0 and had been outplayed by the Avs in the first. The Garden was like an Amtrak quiet car in the second until Nieto, carrying the puck down the left wing, was dropped on his backside by McAvoy. Before the shift was out, McAvoy fed John Moore, who evened the game on a well-placed shot just inside the far post.
McAvoy said he doesn’t go into a game necessarily wanting to be more physical, but if the opportunity presents itself, well, then his 6-foot, 208-pound frame is more than capable of dishing it out.
“I like to be physical when I can within the rules, so it was nice to get a couple of hits,” said McAvoy, who also took six shots (landed two) and made a nice set-up for Acciari in the third. “The (Nieto) one, I don’t want to say it led to the goal, but it was nice to get rewarded at the end of that shift.”
While his 1-2-3, plus-3 weekend has been an attention-grabber, McAvoy feels like he’s been playing consistent hockey for a little while now. But Cassidy certainly seemed pleased with the way one of his prized pupils is looking right now.
“He’s missed some time with different injuries. Maybe he’s starting to feel like now he’s into form, right? It’s not that easy in this league to miss five weeks or four weeks or whatever the case was each time and then all of a sudden get back and revved up to full speed,” said Cassidy. “And the expectations are high for Charlie. He’s had a good start here. Part of that we try to temper with him without talking him down and not reaching his potential, but he has to understand it’s a tough league and play the game in front of him. And I think he’s starting to now play that way, and then when the opportunities are there, he looks like to me that he’s taking advantage of the situation. He’s not forcing anything, so that’s a sign that a guy’s in a zone when you have the puck a lot, you’re making plays, yet you’re not forcing stuff and seem to be making a lot of the right decisions. He’s in a groove right now.”
Whether he’s the future rock upon which the B’s defense is built remains to be seen. But the weekend provided a nice little reminder that McAvoy is a talent that should not be taken lightly, or for granted.