BOSTON — His lip fattened and his mouth bloodied where his lower front teeth were supposed to be, Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy told reporters after his winning goal that he only had time for two questions.
“Then I have to go get more dental work,” the U.S. Olympian said after scoring 39 seconds into overtime Tuesday night to help the Bruins beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 for their 13th straight home win.
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A nine-year NHL veteran who won an Olympic gold medal last month in Milan, McAvoy missed almost a month after he was hit in the mouth by a slap shot in November. He wore a face shield for a while when he returned, but he did not have one when he took another puck to the face against the Nashville Predators last week or on Tuesday night when he was hit into the glass by Kings center Samuel Helenius with about seven minutes left in the second period.
“I just wish the hits would stop coming, honestly,” he said after a win that helped Boston remain in playoff position. “You know, it’s tiring. My mouth, honestly, couldn’t feel worse. But I’ll get some work. We’ve got a really good dentist here, who’s great. I’m really happy we got two points tonight.”
McAvoy left for the locker room, but returned at the start of the third period.
“I thought he wouldn’t come back,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “He’s not getting prettier, that’s for sure.”
Sturm said McAvoy apologized for playing poorly in the first period, but he was in the right spot in overtime when Mark Kastelic made a long pass to David Pastrnak, who fed the puck to McAvoy as he entered the zone. The defenseman made a move to his backhand for the goal.
“He wasn’t that good before the hit,” Sturm said. “But what do you want me to say? This kid just scored the game-winner.”
The Bruins were in danger of a leadership vacuum after losing longtime captain Zdeno Chara and his successors Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. They are playing without a captain, with McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm and Pastrnak serving as alternates.
McAvoy’s toughness could earn him a promotion.
“Those are the guys you need in a locker room,” Sturm said. “The guy next to him, he’s going to look over (and ask), ‘OK, is he going to battle through it or not?’ If you sit across from him, and if you’re a young guy, to see that, you (say) ‘I don’t want to be the guy who’s going quit.'”
