The Boston Bruins dodged a bullet Monday night, but the jury remains out if it’ll remain that way going forward.
Late in the second period of the B’s 3-0 Game 6 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets to claim the second-round Stanley Cup playoff matchup, Charlie McAvoy laid a big hit on Josh Anderson. It’s clear McAvoy ultimately made contact with Anderson’s head, but whether or not his intent was to injure and if the principal point of contact was the body was left in the hands of the officials.
They decided not to give the B’s defenseman a major and match penalty, rather hitting him with a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head. It has not been determined yet if McAvoy will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety for the hit.
Charlie McAvoy gets ✌️ minutes for an illegal check to the head on Josh Anderson. Right call? 🤔#StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/fPE0OH7xqn
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 7, 2019
After the game, Some players and coaches gave their take on the play.
#NHLBruins Charlie McAvoy on his hit on CBJ's Josh Anderson, "It was a hockey play. I tried to finish my check in a legal manner. I was penalized those 2 minutes. I served it and I just came back and tried to be an impactful player."
— Shawn Hutcheon (@ShawnHutcheon) May 7, 2019
Nick Foligno on the McAvpy/Anderson hit: "I'm not going to go there. It sucks. You just hate seeing your teammate laying on the ground with a hit that's unnecessary."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 7, 2019
Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy indicated that he thought McAvoy’s elbow was down.
“I thought he — first of all I can’t see in front of their bench, but I saw the replay,” Cassidy said, as seen on NESN’s Bruins postgame coverage. “It looks like his elbow was down, went through the body. They called a two-minute minor, we killed it off and off we went.”
John Tortorella, who can be one for many or few words depending on how he’s feeling that day, didn’t want to get into it.
“I’m not going to discuss that,” Tortorella said, via FOX Sports Ohio. “It’s a huge moment, but I’m not going to discuss what was told to me (by the referees).”
After the game, Anderson and McAvoy met for a moment at the handshake line, and it did not appear to be contentious.
(You can watch that interaction here)
