{"id":460194,"date":"2026-02-05T14:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/460194\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T14:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:06:10","slug":"marco-sturm-blasts-refs-after-panthers-brutal-hit-on-mcavoy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/460194\/","title":{"rendered":"Marco Sturm blasts refs after Panthers\u2019 \u2018brutal hit\u2019 on McAvoy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Bruins\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t“I\u2019m here to protect my guys, especially Charlie. And if you target his head, which was clear to see, that just pisses me off.”<\/p>\n

\"Boston
\n\tMarco Sturm wasn’t thrilled with Wednesday’s officials in Florida. (AP Photo\/Nick Wass)\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy Conor Ryan<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFebruary 5, 2026 | 6:36 AM\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

2 minutes to read<\/p>\n

Charlie McAvoy managed to finish Wednesday\u2019s eventual 5-4 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers, which was a victory in and of itself.<\/p>\n

After all, it was looking like the Bruins defenseman\u2019s availability for the upcoming Winter Olympics was going to be in jeopardy after taking a high and late hit from Florida fourth liner Sandis Vilmanis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The incident occurred in the first period of Wednesday\u2019s game, with Vilmanis leaving his skates and elbowing McAvoy in the head \u2014 dropping him to the ice. McAvoy left the ice with some assistance and did not return to the ice for the rest of the first period.<\/p>\n

It was a brutal break for the Bruins, whose strong play since the start of 2026 can partly be traced to McAvoy playing his best hockey of the season.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

To add insult to injury, Vilmanis\u2019 high hit didn\u2019t give Boston an opportunity to settle the score via an extended power play. Rather, the Bruins actually emerged from that fracas on the penalty kill.<\/p>\n

Vilmanis was only called for a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head on that play, with Jonathan Aspirot \u2014 McAvoy\u2019s partner \u2014 called for roughing after going after Vilmanis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A 4-on-4 stretch was already going to be a bad break for Boston. It turned into a Panthers power play after an irate Bruins bench \u2014 steamed over the lack of a five-minute major penalty assessed against Vilmanis\u2014 was whistled by referee TJ Luxmore for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.<\/p>\n

While Sturm apparently gave Luxmore an earful from the bench, he wasn\u2019t done as he fielded questions from the media after the loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a brutal hit,\u201d Sturm said. \u201cAnd everyone saw it. Obviously, I have the opportunity to look at the replay, too, and to come out with a four-on-four like that. I just didn\u2019t understand it. That\u2019s all.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here to protect my guys, especially Charlie,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd if you target his head, which was clear to see, that just pisses me off.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Vilmanis didn\u2019t not return for the rest of the game after landing that hit on McAvoy, the Bruins did exact a pound of flesh later in the period \u2014 with Tanner Jeannot delivering a few right hooks against former Bruin A.J. Greer in a spirited bout.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be lying if I said we weren\u2019t pissed off,\u201d Casey Mittelstadt said postgame. \u201cI\u2019m not going to make a judgment call on what happened. I haven\u2019t seen it enough. Obviously, Geno steps up with a big fight there and kind of gets us going. With Charlie, you never want to see that. He\u2019s Charlie McAvoy. He\u2019s our best D-man and a huge part of this team. We were worried, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bruins did get some good news at the start of the second, as McAvoy did return to the ice and still logged 22:05 of ice time en route to a one-point result.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a warrior,\u201d David Pastrnak said of McAvoy. \u201cObviously, he\u2019s been through a lot. So we were really happy we came back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n

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