Boston Bruins fans held their breath Thursday night when No. 1 defenseman Charlie McAvoy accidentally collided with teammate Patrice Bergeron and then slammed into the end boards.
The incident happened in the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden.
McAvoy was a little slow to get up and then went to the bench and down toward the locker room under his own power. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game with an upper body injury.
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The Bruins erased a 1-0 third-period deficit and won 2-1 in overtime on a David Pastrnak goal.
This wild stat shows how absurdly well Bruins have played this season
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery provided an encouraging update on McAvoy following his team's victory.
"We held him back, just precautionary reasons," Montgomery told reporters. "We don't think it's anything serious."
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McAvoy is an elite defenseman and one of the top five players at his position. He plays a huge role in the Bruins success at 5-on-5, the power play and the penalty kill.
Losing him for any amount of time due to injury would be a major setback for Boston's blue line, especially with the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs fast approaching.
It would be wise of the Bruins to give him some time off over the next week just to make sure he's fully ready for Game 1 of the first round. The Bruins have a back-to-back Saturday and Sunday against the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers, respectively. There's no need for McAvoy to play in either matchup.