Bruins beat Penguins, may have dodged bullet with McAvoy
By James O'BrienNov 4, 2019, 10:47 PM EST
As thrilling as it must have been for the Boston Bruins to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in an often-thrilling 6-4 game, the victory might have felt hollow if they received bad news about star defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
When the game was still 4-4 in the third period, McAvoy slid into his own net, and hit his head against the post. He was clearly in pain from the hit, and left the contest. Considering McAvoy's recent history with concussion issues, it was a scary sight for the Bruins.
It's early, but the Bruins might be able to let out a sigh of relief, as head coach Bruce Cassidy believes that McAvoy is only dealing with a cut, according to 98.5 The Sports Hub's Ty Anderson.
With plenty of injuries, things can seem worse than they first appear. That's especially true with concussions or concussion-like injuries, but here's hoping that it really is just a cut, or some other smaller issue.
One thing we don't need to wait on is how great a game this was for the Bruins, particularly their top guys.
This was a seesaw matchup. The Bruins finished the first period up 2-0, and added to that lead with an early 3-0 tally in the second. The Penguins then fired off four consecutive goals to end that middle frame. Brad Marchand found Torey Krug for an odd-angle goal to tie things up 4-4 in the third period, and then Marchand found enough space to beat Tristan Jarry for an exhilarating game-winner, with an empty-netter eventually inflating the difference.
The Penguins must feel frustrated to put forth such an effort and leave Boston without even a pity point beyond regulation, but that top line of Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Patrice Bergeron simply won't be denied.
Pastrnak's point streak is now at 12 games, while Marchand's on a career-best 13-game run. It's bewildering to imagine Bergeron as maybe the least dangerous player on any trio, yet that's arguably the case for Boston. We saw another example of the Bruins' embarrassment of riches on Monday:
With their efforts tonight, @NHLBruins linemates David Pastrnak (29) & Brad Marchand (28) have become the 1st set of winger teammates ever to average 2+ points per team game through the opening 14 gms of a season
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) November 5, 2019
At this point, it feels like injuries have as strong of a chance of slowing this team down right now as even a spry opponent like Pittsburgh. With that in mind, the Bruins have to hope that McAvoy's early positive news is not just optimistic, but also accurate.
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James O'Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.