Charlie McAvoy is just the latest Bruins defenseman to benefit from ‘dad strength’
“It's been an amazing week and a couple days for me. Life is awesome right now."
Brandon Carlo is not exactly a familiar name on the Bruins’ score sheet.
But even with just 29 career tallies over 608 career games with Boston, the stay-at-home blueliner seemingly had fortune on his side last spring during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
On the same day that Carlo and his wife, Mayson, welcomed their first son, Crew, into the world around 3 a.m., it was fitting that Carlo lit the lamp in Boston’s Game 1 win over the Panthers later that night.
“Definitely 24 hours that I won’t forget,” Carlo, who arrived in Florida just a few hours ahead of puck drop following a mid-day flight down from Boston, said after that win against the Panthers.
Carlo’s fellow Bruins blueliner Charlie McAvoy can certainly attest to the lift that comes when a family gets a little larger.
Because after McAvoy and his wife, Kiley, welcomed their first child — Rhys Michael McAvoy — on Jan. 26, the Bruins’ top defenseman has celebrated on the ice by lighting the lamp early and often.
For the second game in a row, McAvoy found twine on Tuesday night against the Wild — deflecting a high-slot wrister from David Pastrnak past Marc-Andre Fleury en route to Boston’s 3-0 win at TD Garden.
For Carlo, it should come as little surprise as to why McAvoy is starting to pile on the points.
“I think he needs to have more babies, because I think he’s got two [goals] in two [games] right now,” Carlo said. “So that’s working out well for him. But no, Rhys is definitely pushing him a little bit harder on the offensive side of the puck, and we’ll tell him to keep that chatter up with Charlie.”
McAvoy has been rewarded on the ice as of late for both putting pucks on net and skating into high-danger ice.
During Saturday’s win over the Rangers, McAvoy didn’t hesitate while lurking on a Bruins’ power play — hammering home a one-timer from the left circle to open the scoring for his team.
Most of McAvoy’s shifts keep him stapled around the blue line. But the 27-year-old skater took advantage of the chaos presented in an extended offensive-zone possession on Tuesday, skating near the low slot as Pastrank cut wide and glided higher up the frozen sheet.
Pastrnak’s volley and the mass of bodies down helped Boston strike at 5:46 in the second period against Minnesota, with McAvoy recording a rare tip-in tally to give his team a lead it would not relinquish.
“I think that was my first tip-in. I was really excited after,” McAvoy said. “I haven’t scored a goal like that. So that was pretty cool. … Pasta is great at getting his shot through and awesome at changing his angle. So I was like, let me just see if I can get there and it ended up being the perfect time.”
An adherence to simple, smart hockey in the O-zone — coupled with a bit of puck luck — has benefited McAvoy these last two games.
But the Bruins blueliner, much like Carlo, believes that good fortune comes from far more than just a few bounces going your way.
“Dad strength, as they say,” McAvoy acknowledged. “It’s been an amazing week and a couple days for me. Life is awesome right now. I’m just through the moon with me and Kiley and the baby. It’s nice to have some wins on top of it.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com