Boston Bruins
Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy Injured, Bloodied By Slap Shot To The Face
A raucous crowd watching the Boston Bruins take on the Montreal Canadiens inside Bell Centre on Saturday night fell silent when Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy dropped to ice the after being hit in the face by a puck.
It was in the second period that a blast off the stick of Montreal’s Noah Dobson appeared to glance off Mark Kastelic as he tried to block the shot and misdirected, hitting McAvoy squarely in the jaw. McAvoy instantly fell onto his back before rolling onto his stomach and clutching his face as blood pooled onto the ice.
After a trainer quickly rushed out to tend to him, McAvoy left the game and did not return.
Charlie McAvoy leaves the the game after taking a puck to the face pic.twitter.com/QlsNdINYoD
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 16, 2025
“Obviously, I’m praying for him that everything is going to be fine,” David Pastrnak told reporters in Montreal. “I haven’t heard anything yet. Hopefully, he’s going to be alright. It’s a tough break, and a very tough moment. We’re just praying for him to be alright.”
According to Bruins head coach Marco Sturm, McAvoy’s status is unclear. He will undergo testing in Montreal before flying back to Boston.
McAvoy, 27, has appeared in 19 games for the Bruins this year, registering 14 assists and leading the team in average time on ice with 23:46 minutes per night.
Forced to play the rest of the way against Montreal without McAvoy, the Bruins leaned heavily on their other five defensemen. Hampus Lindholm led the team with 27:19 of ice time, setting a new season-high.
“It’s definitely emotional when you see your teammate go down like that,” said Nikita Zadorov. “But the game is on and adrenaline is pumping, so there’s no time to think about that. You have to go out there and do your job, especially when you’re short a person. Five D played for half of the game. You have to keep your head on a swivel. You’re going to have different partners all the time, so you got to adjust. I thought we did pretty good.”
McAvoy wasn’t the only casualty the Bruins suffered. Forward Viktor Arvidsson exited during the third period due to a lower-body injury and will miss “some time”, according to Sturm.
Even though they were shorthanded the majority of the night, the Bruins defeated the Canadiens by the final of 3-2. Jeremy Swayman stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced, while Boston’s penalty kill finished a perfect 7-7.
“We said it between periods that we want to do it for [McAvoy],” Sturm said. “He’s such a big, important piece for our team. That means that other gutsy have to step up, so that was nice to see.”
Boston has now won eight out of their last nine games, and is in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division with 24 points and a record of 12-8-0.
The Bruins will face the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night at TD Garden.
