Now goals don\u2019t always make the man, but man, the McAvoy we\u2019ve seen of late \u2014 one decidedly more inclined to fire the puck \u2014 is more in line with what Bruins fans conjure up when thinking of a resident blue line beast with a \u201cB\u201d on his chest.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou always need a driver,\u201d noted coach Marco Sturm, focusing on McAvoy\u2019s offensive contribution that helped end a 0-3-4 run on the road. \u201cHe has a little swagger now, especially after the Olympics. It\u2019s nice to see, because you need those drivers \u2014 especially when you get rewarded, that\u2019s even better.\u201d<\/p>\n
McAvoy scored his first goal, squaring things at 1, with an awkward, off-balance slapper that sent a slow, knuckling puck by goalie Logan Thompson in the second period. <\/p>\n
The national broadcast caught McAvoy kiddingly asking aloud how fast the shot was traveling. Per color man Ray Ferraro, it was a blazing 55 miles an hour, about enough to break a pane of glass. Maybe. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was front foot and I\u2019m just like, \u2018I\u2019m shooting this thing,\u2019\u2009\u201d explained a smiling McAvoy. \u201cSo, I got it off and you just get lucky there. Maybe a friendly reminder to myself just to shoot more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which brings us back to a closer look at McAvoy\u2019s 4-4\u20138 streak. In the six games, McAvoy landed 16 shots. By no means a Ray Bourque-like barrage. But consider, McAvoy never has been a volume shooter. He is still not that guy. He has a playmaker\u2019s DNA, prewired to pass first, shoot when all other options are exhausted. He too often thinks like a center, looking east-west for a winger, when the job often calls for blinders and a big blast.<\/p>\n
As of Sunday, McAvoy\u2019s point production (9-40\u201349) ranked 10th among all NHL defenseman, and he had landed a mere 87 shots on net. That a lot of shots not taken. The nine D\u2019men ahead of him averaged 165 shots, led by the Blue Jackets\u2019 Zach Werenski (207).<\/p>\n
McAvoy\u2019s 16 shots over six games, an average of 2.67 per game, is well ahead of his career average of 1.69 shots per game prior to this season. As for his prior longest streaks, he delivered 0-12\u201312 over eight games in 2021-22, cobbling together only 12 shots on net. Two seasons ago he crafted a 3-7\u201310 run over seven games, and, in that case, was a more active shooter (15 total).<\/p>\n
On his second goal vs. the Capitals, a bolder McAvoy activated off his defensive spot, dipped down low in the offensive end, then cut to the front of the net for a tip of Pavel Zacha\u2019s 55-foot wrister from just inside the blue line. The alert Zacha moved back in the zone as defensive support to cover for McAvoy, the pair both rewarded on the scoresheet.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what I remember,\u201d said McAvoy, \u201cit was a battle along the wall that kept going and we ended up near the goal line, kind of whacking it around, and it was a great job by Arvy [Viktor Arvidsson], getting the puck up to Pav. Then I\u2019m the low guy and my head says, \u2018I\u2019m replacing a forward and just try to get to the net.\u2019 Then just a great shot by Pav.\u201d <\/p>\n
What we may see emerging here, based on results and analytics, is a McAvoy who more closely resembles the Hub\u2019s blue line giants who preceded him \u2014 the Rushmore bunch of names that include Bourque, Bobby Orr, Brad Park, and Zdeno Chara. Rarely did any of those Hall of Famers pass up a chance to let it rip.<\/p>\n
Orr led them all with an average 4.65 shots per game (3,058 total), Bourque, the game\u2019s shootingest defenseman that ever was (6,209 total), landed 3.85 shots per game. Park, the bridge from Orr to Bourque, averaged 2.54 shots per game (2,827 total strikes). Even Chara, the game\u2019s No. 1 shutdown defenseman, landed 3,419 shots, an average of 2.04.<\/p>\n
To be continued. In his nine games back from Milan, with that USA Olympic gold medal around his neck, McAvoy leads all Bruins goal scorers (5) and point producers (10). The franchise No. 1 defenseman\u2019s got it going on like no one else in a Bruins uniform right now. He is the driver.<\/p>\n
There has been a tradition of that here going back now for more than 60 years. The numbers are hinting that maybe Charlie McAvoy\u2019s time has come.<\/p>\n