Charlie McAvoy arguably has been the Boston Bruins’ best defenseman this series, but they’ll experience life without him Thursday.
The young defenseman was slapped with a one-game suspension by the Department of Player Safety for his check to the head of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson during the B’s series-clinching Game 6 win. McAvoy now will miss Thursday’s Game 1 of Boston’s Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
So what does this mean for the Bruins?
Well first, let’s acknowledge the fact that it’s a damn good thing the Bruins took care of business Monday night in Columbus. Playing a Game 7 without a top pairing defensemen is a pretty unenviable task, so putting a bow on the second round is not to be ignored. The game was 1-0 at the time of the hit, making the Bruins all the luckier that McAvoy didn’t get served with a match penalty, either.
But in Thursday’s case, McAvoy has left his team in a less-than-ideal position. While it is just one game he’ll be out, Game 1 generally is a chance for each team to try and set the tone of the series, and McAvoy not being around puts the Bruins in a pinch, especially against an incredibly skilled Hurricanes team that is full of energy.
The 21-year-old has a hand not only in 5-on-5 situations, but also the power play and, sometimes, the penalty kill. He logs big minutes altogether and plays key roles on both ends of the ice, so his absence is going to leave a pretty big void for the Bruins to fill.
Bruins president Don Sweeney indicated Tuesday that Kevan Miller (lower-body) still isn’t ready to go, but John Moore (upper-body) is. Moore didn’t play at all against the Blue Jackets, and Sweeney didn’t give the most convincing answer when asked about Moore’s availability, although he did say the blueliner is available.
If Moore actually is good to go, then things aren’t overly complicated. Brandon Carlo likely would go to the top pairing, and Moore possibly could fill that second-duo role if head coach Bruce Cassidy doesn’t want to break up the Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Clifton third pairing. However, Moore is a left shot, as is Krug, Grzelcyk and Zdeno Chara, while McAvoy is a righty. That means at least one defenseman would be playing on their off side — not the end of the world, but an inconvenience nonetheless.
Although he’s been healthy scratched plenty of times before, it seems somewhat clear that Cassidy trusts Moore when he does get the chance to play. Cassidy will use Moore occasionally in shorthanded situations, and in the four games he played against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, Moore saw his ice time increase with each game.
Is Moore a step down from McAvoy? Of course. But he’s a veteran and has played in 42 postseason contests before, so there could be worse placeholders.
If for some reason Moore is unable to go, then Steven Kampfer likely is the next man up. That is, unless Cassidy wants to slot in one of the remaining Providence guys hanging around, a list that includes Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril and Jeremy Lauzon. To be clear though, that would be a really, really nuclear option and seems highly unlikely.
Because of that, the best situation for the Bruins in Game 1 is to hope Moore is good to go. You know for the most part what you’re getting out of him, and the goal here is not to bring somebody in to save the day, rather ensure the Bruins don’t take a colossal step back at the blue line.
The reality remains though that McAvoy did put his team in a tough spot, even if his argument to the DoPS that he wasn’t intending for Anderson’s head is a legitimate one.
Carolina is a skilled team, and McAvoy is expected to play a big role. He still can do that, it’ll just have to be after Thursday.
