Haggerty: McAvoy Evolving Into Elite No. 1 Guy For Boston Bruins |BHN+

While the Boston Bruins still haven’t handed the controls of their top power play unit over to him on a full-time basis, it’s very clear Charlie McAvoy is taking the necessary offensives step in becoming a dominant No. 1 defenseman.

The evidence is mounting each and every game.

McAvoy set up the overtime game-winner in Wednesday night’s 3-2 overtime win when he broke up a play in front of the Boston net, banked a perfect area pass off the side boards and freed Brad Marchand for the breakaway game-winner less than a minute into the extra session.

What a sequence all around.

Great play by McAvoy to set up Marchand’s OT winner. pic.twitter.com/Y0HR9xRWYa

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) February 11, 2021

It was the eighth straight game that McAvoy has notched an assist, becoming the first Bruins defensemen to register a point in eight consecutive games since Hall of Famer Ray Bourque did it during his prolific days with the Black and Gold.

Of course, Bourque did it six different times during his brilliant, lengthy career in Boston, so there’s still plenty for the 23-year-old McAvoy to aspire to moving forward in his Boston Bruins career. But the young D-man is undergoing an impressive evolution that was needed this year with Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara moving on in free agency. The Bruins were banking on McAvoy developing into the elite category this season and that’s exactly what’s happening in all situations on the ice.