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Bruins injury updates: ‘No timeline’ yet for Charlie McAvoy after taking puck to face
“Obviously, he's going to be out tonight, and we'll see how he [does] today with all his appointments.”
The Bruins are still awaiting word on defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s status after he took a slap shot to the mouth on Saturday night.
Speaking after Monday’s morning skate, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm confirmed that McAvoy won’t play that night against the Hurricanes at TD Garden — with the skilled D-man still meeting with doctors to determine the next course of action in his recovery.
“He’s with the doctors right now, so there’s no timeline,” Sturm said of McAvoy. “Obviously, he’s going to be out tonight, and we’ll see how he [does] today with all his appointments.”
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Sturm added that he’s not sure yet if McAvoy will require surgery to repair any damage doled out on Saturday night.
The 27-year-old defenseman suffered the injury during the second period of Boston’s 3-2 win over the Canadiens at Bell Centre. At 11:01 in the middle frame, McAvoy took a slap shot from Habs defenseman Noah Dobson directly in the mouth while out on the penalty kill.
McAvoy immediately hit the ice, with blood pouring from his face. Head athletic trainer Dustin Stuck rushed from the bench to assist McAvoy, covering his face with a towel. McAvoy eventually made his way off the ice, with teammate Nikita Zadorov searching for a few of McAvoy’s teeth out on the ice.
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“For me personally, it was tough going back out there,” David Pastrnak said of McAvoy’s injury on Saturday night. “But once the puck dropped, you focus on the play. You keep thinking about Chucky and hope he’s going to be alright. Obviously praying for him.”
Sturm noted after the win that McAvoy was still undergoing testing and the team was hoping that their alternate captain was going to be cleared to travel back with Boston with the rest of his teammates late Saturday night.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, McAvoy did receive the green light to travel back to Boston that night, but it’s clear that the talented defenseman still has a ways to go before getting cleared for game action once again.
McAvoy has dealt with his fair share of injury misfortunes over the years, with Bell Centre in particular being a house of horrors for the gifted blueliner.
During the 4 Nations Faceoff tournament in February, McAvoy injured his shoulder while playing for Team USA — with the injury and subsequent infection requiring a stay at Massachusetts General Hospital, an irrigation and debridement procedure, and a steady dose of antibiotics.
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McAvoy did not play again last season after the 4 Nations Faceoff, appearing in just 50 games.
He was in the midst of a bounce-back season so far this fall, recording 14 assists over 19 games while averaging 23:46 of ice time per contest.
His chemistry on a top D pairing with Zadorov has helped steady Boston’s defensive structure during this recent stretch of stronger play, with the Bruins outscoring opponents, 5-2, in the duo’s 132 minutes of 5-on-5 resp so far this year.
With McAvoy sidelined on Monday, the Bruins will slot Henri Jokiharju up on the top pairing next to Zadorov, while Mason Lohrei and Jonathan Aspirot will remain in place on the third pairing.
Bruins call up Blumel, Tufte
McAvoy was not the only Bruins regular who left Montreal with an injury, as top-six winger Viktor Arvidsson also had to exit Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury.
The 32-year-old winger appeared to tweak something while trying to chase after a puck in the third period, with Sturm noting on Monday that Arvidsson is “week to week” moving forward. Boston officially placed Arvidsson on injured reserve just ahead of morning skate.
With Arvidsson now on the mend and the Bruins already dealing with other absences across their forward corps, the Bruins announced Monday that forwards Matej Blumel and Riley Tufte were recalled from Providence.
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In order to accommodate those AHL call-ups, Casey Mittelstadt was also placed on injured reserve alongside Arvidsson, while defenseman Jordan Harris was put on long-term injured reserve after undergoing ankle surgery in October.
Johnny Beecher was also held off the ice on Monday with what Sturm deemed as a potential roster move — with Boston ultimately placing him on waivers on Monday for purpose of assignment to Providence.
If Beecher clears waivers by 2 p.m. Tuesday, he was report to the AHL ranks. The 2019 first-round pick has appeared in six of Boston’s 20 games this year, tallying one goal.
During morning skate, Blumel skated at right wing on a line with Pavel Zacha and Alex Steeves, while Tufte rounded out a fourth line with Sean Kuraly and Mikey Eyssimont. Blumel also skated on Boston’s top power-play unit.
Blumel, 25, was an intriguing offseason pickup by Boston after leading the AHL with 39 goals in 67 games with the Texas Stars last season. The Czech product didn’t break camp with Boston despite showcasing some of that scoring touch during preseason action, with Blumel scoring 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 13 games so far with Providence.
“I think I was close,” Blumel said of opening the season in the NHL ranks. “Like I said, I was surprised [to not make the cut], but I took the decision and I went down there to work and came back here.”
The 6-foot-6 Tufte has been a force out of the gate for a 12-2 Providence team, scoring eight goals and 16 points over his first 13 games this year.
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Arvidsson stands as a tough loss, as the speedy forward had seemingly found his footing over the last few weeks. He scored six goals and nine total points over his last 13 games, while his skating ability was a welcome addition on a Bruins power play that was able to gain clean entries over the blue line when the Swede had the puck on his stick.
Lindholm returns to practice
Injuries are starting to pile up for the Bruins, as Sturm’s club already entered their latest stretch of games without a pair of top-six forwards in Elias Lindholm and Mittelstadt.
Lindholm has not played for Boston since Oct. 30 after colliding with Buffalo’s Jordan Greenway, while Mittelstadt has been sidelined since Nov. 6 after also appearing to hurt his knee during a home win over Ottawa.
While Mittelstadt is currently on IR, Lindholm did skate with his teammates on Monday in a regular practice sweater — even taking part in a few drills.
Even though Lindholm won’t play on Monday against Carolina, Sturm said that there’s a chance the veteran center could join the team at some point on their upcoming West Coast trip — although those details still need to be finalized.
“I always think as soon as a player is on the ice and especially today, he was in some drills — that means he’s getting closer,” Sturm said of Lindholm. “How close is he? I don’t know. I think the other day was the first time he was on the ice. So again, I really don’t know the timeline on him. I’m just happy that he’s out there and he’s getting closer, because we need him.”
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The Bruins have generally been able to stay afloat as of late without both their top-line center and playmaking wing on Zacha’s line.
Marat Khustnudinov has filled in admirably on a top line between David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie, with Boston outscoring opponents, 4-2, in that trio’s 74 minutes of 5-on-5 reps this season. Steeves, 25, has scored a goal and doled out 16 hits in his four games with Boston since stepping in for Mittelstadt.
Still, the Bruins will welcome the added scoring touch that both Lindholm and Mittelstadt provide once they’re cleared to play once again.
Lindholm, 30, scored four goals (all on the power play) and nine total points over his 13 games so far this year while winning 57.5 percent of his faceoffs.
Mittelstadt responded well after getting benched by Sturm on Oct. 19, posting seven points (two goals, five assists) over his following nine games before going down with his injury.
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