McAvoy Notches Goal, Assist in B's Win Over Detroit

BOSTON - Charlie McAvoy has never been considered a top-end goal scorer.
The 22-year-old's main responsibility is to be a strong, two-way defenseman that anchors the Bruins' top pairing alongside Zdeno Chara. As such, McAvoy - leading Boston in ice time (23:07 per game) this season - is often tasked with shutting down the opponents' top players. His focus is not always on finding the scoresheet.
Like any hockey player, however, McAvoy quite enjoys putting the puck in the back of the net. For the first 51 games of the season, he didn't have the fortune of relishing in that experience.
That changed some 10 days ago in Chicago when the blue liner popped his first of the season for the overtime winner. And on Saturday afternoon, he made sure there would not be a similar wait for No. 2.

McAvoy picked up his second goal of the season, as well as an assist, to help the Bruins to a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden.
"I mean it's always fun to contribute that way, for sure…it helps the team," said McAvoy, who finished with four shots on goal, two hits, and a plus-3 rating in 20:29. "If we're able to take a goal like that and then get momentum going and win a game then I had helped us win. Whatever I can do."

With the Bruins down, 1-0, McAvoy got Boston on the board midway through the second period. After Detroit failed to fully clear a Brad Marchand rebound, the puck squirted out into the slot where McAvoy collected it, danced around a lunging defender, and ripped home a wrister blocker-side to tie the game with 8:01 gone in the middle frame.
"Little bit of puck luck," said McAvoy. "I think when they were trying to get it out it looked like the forwards kind of had their backs to the play trying to make a good defensive play…tried to piggyback off of them and kind of pick up the puck.
"I was lucky enough that it kind of landed there for me and bit of a puck battle and I was able to get it and just get a shot off it and lucky enough to see it go in."
McAvoy was back in the mix just a few moments later when Charlie Coyle tipped home his blast from the point to put Boston up, 3-1, and cap a stretch of three goals for the Black & Gold in a span of 4:29. It was McAvoy's 21st assist of the season, tying his total from a year ago and leaving him just four shy of his career high of 25 set as a rookie in 2017-18.
"He's really finding his game all around," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "He was solid at the start of the year. I think he's cleaner - breakouts, defending, just his overall game, it just looks like he found his groove now. Good to see him shoot the puck. I know in the back of his mind, he saw [David Pastrnak] over there and was thinking, 'Should I throw it over there?'
"But he's done a little more of that lately, and I think the goals are going to start to come for him because he has the puck a lot. So, it's good. It's as good as he's played all year, I think, recently. Maybe that first goal, the monkey off his back, had something to do with it. I don't know, maybe he can answer that, but he's sure giving us solid minutes in each end."

Marchand Keeps Dishing

After his highlight-reel assist on Pastrnak's first goal against the Canadiens on Wednesday night, Marchand picked up right where he left off. The winger collected two more helpers on Saturday afternoon, giving him 50 on the season - his third straight 50-assist campaign.
Marchand's second assist of the afternoon was another eye-popper as he dangled through Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou before delivering a backhanded feed to Pastrnak, who finished it off for his league-leading 42nd goal of the season and a 4-1 Bruins lead with 6:57 remaining.
His first helper of the night came after he freed the puck up with a heavy forecheck and found Patrice Bergeron, who dangled around Detroit goalie Jonathan Bernier for a shorthanded tally that put Boston ahead, 2-1, at 9:40 of the second.
"Those guys are playing great all year," said Coyle. "That's our top line, they do what they do, and I've seen [Marchand] do that at practice. He works so hard, it's no question that you see that in games and what he can pull off. He's so good with the puck on his edges, so crafty, he can stop on a dime.
"That stuff doesn't even excite us anymore cause we just know he can do it he just pulls it off. It's really special to see, though, there's not many players that can do that, what he does so it's really special."

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