Charlie McAvoy is showing why he is an elite player
After the Bruins roughest stretch of the season, they have regained their winning ways. Boston has won four straight games and gotten contributions from every line. They have also gotten a spark from Charlie McAvoy, who has been a points machine. With the playoffs approaching, the BU product has regained his offensive touch.
In the Bruins last four games, McAvoy has seven assists. While he has not scored a goal in that span, he is putting his teammates in positions to be successful. That was on display on Monday night and did not go unnoticed by David Pastrnak, who benefited from McAvoy's vision on his second goal of the game.
"It was a set play," Pastrnak told reporters. "[McAvoy and I] didn't connect the tape-to-tape. He just let it bounce off the boards, and I told him right away, 'That's an unbelievable play.' Heads down to him, great pass."
While McAvoy has been an assist machine, he has not been afraid of sacrificing his body. In the Bruins last five games, the New York native has blocked 12 shots and landed four hits. He has found a way to help the Bruins win regardless of the situation while averaging almost a point per game.
Through 43 games this season, the 25-year-old has 39 points. Sixteen of those have come on the powerplay. During the 2021-2022 campaign, McAvoy had a career-high 21 points on the man advantage. With another career milestone on the horizon, the Bruins superstar defenseman continued to add to climb the franchise record books on Monday afternoon.
Against the Senators, McAvoy recorded the eighth three assist game of his career. That is fourth most by a Bruins defenseman. The only players ahead of McAvoy are Brad Park, Bobby Orr, and Ray Bourque. With seven years left on his current deal, McAvoy still has plenty of time to catch up to three franchise greats.
As the Regular season enters its final stretch, the Bruins top defenseman is finding his rhythm at the perfect time. McAvoy is playing like the superstar he is expected to be. In a game against Ottawa in which Pastrnak dazzled with his scoring ability, McAvoy’s play offensively stood out to his head coach.
“That play, it's hard for the opposing team to stay with anybody because of the play that Charlie McAvoy made, “Jim Montgomery told the media.” I've never seen that special of a play in that situation."
With McAvoy in the zone offensively, a Bruins team already firing on all cylinders is a nightmare matchup for any team. However, for the Bruins, the recent play of their star defenseman comes as no surprise.
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