BOSTON — It was a much different start to the season than star defenseman Charlie McAvoy has been accustomed to with the Boston Bruins.
McAvoy spent the first 13 games of the season watching from afar, trying to keep his emotions in check when he saw his teammates continuously winning as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery.
McAvoy desperately wanted to be a part of the winning environment the Bruins have created this season and on Thursday night he was, returning to the lineup to make his season debut while scoring a goal in a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames at TD Garden.
“It felt really good. Big ole’ bundle of nerves,” McAvoy said. “It’s exciting to come back and it’s always good to feel those things. This is the first time I’ve come in like this, not had a preseason to get ready. So definitely nervous today, all day today, and excited. The good kind of nerves. To get out there I knew that I wanted to play simpler. Couple real quick shifts to get me in and I felt like it went well.”
McAvoy’s tally ended up being the difference in the game as it came with 1:33 left in the second period after the Bruins squandered back-to-back power-play opportunities.
With that simple approach in mind, McAvoy put perfect placement on his shot from just inside the point, picking the upper left corner to break a 1-1 deadlock.
“We got possession of it and set it up and it was a good pass by (Zacha) there to find me in the seam,” McAvoy said. “Just part of my simple attitude tonight. I just wanted to catch it and shoot it. Get in the middle of the ice and just happened to go in.”
First-year head coach Jim Montgomery certainly liked what he saw out of the elite defenseman, especially how McAvoy added to the offensive attack.
“Just his skating, his ability to make reads, how many pucks he kept alive in the offensive zone by pinching pucks on the wall and carrying them down and making possession plays,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery plans to ease McAvoy, who spent 19:18 on ice in the win, back into things as he continues to get acclimated to game action. Montgomery added the plan is for McAvoy to play in only one game of the team’s upcoming back-to-back over the weekend.
Here are more notes from Thursday’s Bruins-Flames game:
— With Connor Clifton and McAvoy each scoring, the Bruins now have 18 different goal-scorers on the season and the plethora of contributions throughout the lineup has been without a doubt a key to success.
“It’s been so fun to watch these guys play, to watch everybody really put it on display, show our depth and just everybody’s chipped in and they’ve been a part of why we’re winning,” McAvoy said. “I think that’s probably been the best thing to watch is that it’s not the same people every night. It’s everybody pulling the rope and that’s really what it takes to win.”
— Linus Ullmark continues to be super reliable as Boston’s last line of defense. Ullmark notched his 10th win of the season as he recorded 31 saves.
— Ex-Bruin Dan Vladar got the start in net for the Flames and registered 25 saves. Vladar, who was drafted by the Bruins in the third round of the 2015 NHL draft, played one season in Boston. Old friend Milan Lucic returned to face his former club as well, logging just 9:46 of ice time and finishing as a minus-one.
— It was nothing but zeros on Boston’s special teams, which is bad news for the power play as the Bruins went 0-for-5 on the man advantage. But the penalty kill was a source of strength as the Bruins didn’t allow the Flames to score on any of their six power-play opportunities.
— The Bruins hit the road for the first game of a back-to-back on Saturday as they take on the Buffalo Sabres for the first time this season. Puck drop from KeyBank Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
