In Charlie McAvoy, Bruins Getting Their ‘Horse’ Back

The Bruins made do without Charlie McAvoy as he served a four-game suspension, but they sure have been itching to get him back.

Boston will scratch that itch Saturday.

McAvoy will return to the B’s in their matchup with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at Bell Centre. It’ll be his first game since delivering an illegal check to the head of Florida Panthers blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson on Oct. 30. In the 25-year-old, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery is getting back one of his most valuable chess pieces.

“I mean, anytime you can get an elite defenseman — one of the top defensemen in the league — back in your lineup, you’re better offensively, you’re better defensively and you’re better in transition both ways,” Montgomery said, per team-provided video. “He’s an elite defenseman. He takes up a lot of space and he’s a big horse for us back there.”

In his return McAvoy will pair with Mason Lohrei, which was something the rookie defenseman hoped for in preseason. Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo will be the second defensive pairing, while Derek Forbort will round things out with Ian Mitchell, pushing Kevin Shattenkirk out of the lineup.

McAvoy has been stellar when on the ice, scoring eight points in just nine games played. The one-time All-Star has been much more aggressive on the offensive end, registering a career-high 10.7 shot percentage this season.

He does a little bit of everything for Boston, making it imperative he stays on the ice for the Bruins.