As expected, the Boston Bruins will be without Charlie McAvoy for the foreseeable future.
The Bruins defenseman underwent facial surgery and remained back in Boston as the team headed to the West Coast, head coach Marco Sturm announced Wednesday.
The team did not announce a timetable for McAvoy’s return.
McAvoy suffered the injury Saturday night in Montreal in the second period of the Bruins’ matchup with the Canadiens. The 27-year-old took a Noah Dobson one-timer to the face and immediately dropped to the ice as blood spurted from his mouth.
McAvoy was able to fly back with the team Saturday night, but Sturm quickly ruled McAvoy out of Monday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, then announced Tuesday that his star defenseman wouldn’t travel with the team on its upcoming West Coast road trip.
Losing McAvoy is a massive blow for a Boston team that has won eight of its last 10 games to surge into second place in the Atlantic Division at 12-9-0. The Bruins’ alternate captain has yet to score this season, but his 14 assists rank second on the team behind only David Pastrnak.
Henri Jokiharju took McAvoy’s place alongside Nikita Zadorov on Boston’s top defensive pairing Monday night against Carolina, while recent Providence call-up Jonathan Aspirot should remain with the parent club as well while McAvoy is sidelined. Additionally, the Bruins recalled Michael Callahan — who’s appeared in 20 NHL games, including three this season — from Providence on Wednesday.
Still, the Bruins will have their work cut out for them staying afloat without McAvoy; Boston went 10-17-5 in the 32 games McAvoy missed last season.
