BOSTON — With 27 seconds left and the Bruins clinging to a one-goal lead, Jack Eichel got the puck just inside the top of the left wing face-off circle and one-timed it toward the net.
Maybe Joonas Korpisalo would have made the save, but Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy wasn’t taking any chances. He not only moved toward the shooter, who was about 12 feet away, but also put his right leg out to block it.
The puck caromed hard enough off his instep that it sailed over the glass into the crowd. McAvoy went down and was initially slow to get up.
But he got to his feet, shook it off and stayed on the ice for the final 25.2 as the Bruins held on for a 4-3 win.
“It’s fine. It’ll be sore. But it was my turn. Sometimes it’s your turn. It was my turn,” he said. “You gotta block that shot. We’ve got to see this through. Those two points are huge for us. In the moment. It was my turn.”
The play was important, but the fact that his instinct was to make it was critical too.
It was just over two months since a redirected shot jumped off the ice against Montreal and hit McAvoy in the mouth. The play caused dental and jaw damage and put him on the shelf for a month.
Even with a protective mask like McAvoy is wearing now as his jaw continues to heal, it would be a natural inclination to stay out of the line of fire. But while McAvoy may have lost some teeth, he hasn’t lost his nerve.
“When I came back, right after I put the bubble on, I was pretty hesitant when stuff was coming at me. You’re kind of in your head a little bit,” he said. “But it didn’t last. I honestly forgot about it and started playing normally.”
Marco Sturm said McAvoy’s “normal” is really good.
“He’s been outstanding for a while now. He’s like a horse out there,” the Bruins coach said. “You want to play him 60 minutes. He does everything right right now. Blocking that shot is part of his game. I’m very happy with his game, especially in those crucial moments of the game.”
McAvoy, who also suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last February during the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, said he hoped it was no longer his turn to suffer freak injuries.
“I tried to keep all of that in 2025. That wasn’t my year,” he said. “Since we turned the calendar, it’s been a great month of January for me and my family. Bumps and bruises are a part of that. You hope it’s nothing more than that. That’s what I wasn’t able to avoid in 2025.”
