The first, and undoubtedly the ugliest-looking one, came when Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy took a Noah Dobson shot off the jaw. The shot appeared to deflect off Mark Kastelic and hit McAvoy, but the damage was still there and heavy, with a fair amount of McAvoy’s blood on the ice.
McAvoy ultimately went back to the dressing room and did not return to play in this game. After the game, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm said he was hopeful that McAvoy would be able to travel home with the Bruins. McAvoy was indeed well enough to do that, too, according to an injury recap of sorts from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman late Saturday night.
In addition to McAvoy, the Bruins also lost winger Viktor Arvidsson to a lower-body injury before the end of this contest. Arvidsson, who scored the 200th NHL goal of his career in the win, took his last shift with just over five minutes remaining in the third period, and will miss some time according to Sturm.
“[Arvidsson] will be out,” Sturm said following the victory. “Lower-body [injury]. I don’t know how long, so we’re going to have to wait and see.”
The Bruins are still without top-six forwards Elias Lindholm and Casey Mittelstadt to lower-body injuries, and Johnny Beecher was dealing with an upper-body injury last we knew. That could put the Bruins in a position to make a recall from AHL Providence for Monday’s home head-to-head with the Hurricanes at TD Garden. And it looks like the Bruins are prepping for exactly that, with forwards Matej Blumel and Riley Tufte held out of Providence’s lineup on Sunday, according to Mark Divver.
Blumel, who was one of the final cuts from Boston’s training camp, has posted two goals and 13 points through 13 games for the P-Bruins this season. Tufte, meanwhile, has eight goals and 16 points through 13 games this season, with his 16 points beginning Sunday as the third-most among all AHL skaters.
In the case of McAvoy, the Bruins may not need to make a callup to address his potential absence, with Henri Jokiharju (obviously) still on the roster after sitting out Saturday’s contest as a healthy scratch.