No telling how long, if at all, Charlie McAvoy will be out of the Bruins’ lineup following his injury in the opening minute of the Bruins’ 2-1 overtime win over the Canadiens on Saturday at TD Garden.
“Monday, when we get back to the rink, we’ll have a better idea where he’s at,’’ said coach Bruce Cassidy immediately after the win. “Right now that’s all I’ve got.’’
McAvoy fell deep in Boston’s end, at his right defense position, and quickly got up and made his way directly to the Boston bench, obviously hobbled after a puck battle with the Habs’ Brendan Gallagher.
As Gallagher fought for the puck in the left wing faceoff circle, McAvoy used his stick to give the Habs forward a light hack on the right knee. Gallagher responded with a downward chop, which appeared to miss McAvoy’s right skate boot. McAvoy promptly tumbled to the ice in obvious pain, then righted himself and made a direct line, without assistance, for the Boston bench, exiting the action with only 37 seconds ticked off the clock.
“I looked at it [via replay] on the bench and I haven’t seen it since,’’ said Cassidy. “Did he get his foot caught up with the other guy, or is that something . . . maybe [it happened] before that? I don’t have a good answer for that, to be honest, but it won’t be too hard to find out because he was only out there for 37 seconds.
“Hopefully it’s not serious. It didn’t look serious at the time, but I don’t really know.’’
After lingering briefly in the runway leading aside the Boston bench, the 20-year-old former Boston University star made his way to the dressing room
McAvoy, captain Zdeno Chara’s regular partner this season, began the late-afternoon matinee with a 7-25—32 line in 58 games.
With McAvoy hors de combat, Cassidy was left with five defensemen to contend with the Habs. His first move was to pull Kevan Miller off the No. 3 pairing (with newcomer Nick Holden) and pair the ex-Vermont standout with Chara. But the pairings changed throughout the 60-plus minutes.
Evidence once again that an NHL team, particularly one that hopes to vie for a Stanley Cup, can never have enough defensemen.
If McAvoy is out Tuesday, with the Red Wings in town, Cassidy should have his choice of Adam McQuaid or Matt Grzelcyk to insert in the lineup. The Bruins last weekend shipped another spare D, Paul Postma, to AHL Providence.
Charting Donato
Donato, yes? Donato, no?
Following their acquisitions of veteran forwards Rick Nash and Brian Gionta last weekend, the Bruins likely aren’t as inclined to sign Ryan Donato as soon as next weekend, but there is that possibility.
Donato, a junior at Harvard, could turn pro as early as next weekend, if the Crimson (13-12-4) fail to make it out of Round 1 of the ECAC playoffs.
Had the Bruins not added to their wealth at wing during the trade deadline, they probably would be encouraging the 21-year-old Donato to come aboard right away and try to find a fit for him, possibly among their top six forwards.
Now, with the Black-and-Gold personnel cupboard full, there is less incentive for the Bruins to sign Donato, in part because it would mean burning a year off of his standard three-year entry deal, thus forfeiting a season’s worth of lower salary compensation for the promising forward.
Meanwhile, Donato, who was drafted by the Bruins in 2014, also has the option at the end of Harvard’s season to declare his college career finished. By doing so, he then would become an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any of the other 30 NHL teams, 30 days after signing his “declaration’’ papers.
The latter scenario, Donato signing anywhere other than Boston, where his father Teddy began his NHL playing career, is highly unlikely. But it would provide the younger Donato the leverage, if he cared to use it, to have the Bruins sign him immediately and burn the first year off the three-year entry deal.
Few college players gain such leverage, but Donato has it because he is now four years beyond his draft year. Upon graduation from Dexter in 2014, he was drafted by the Bruins and then played in the USHL prior to entering Harvard, and playing there under his father’s tutelage, in the fall of 2015.
The Bruins benefited from this rare exception 10 years ago when, in the summer of 2008, Blake Wheeler left the University of Minnesota after three years and signed as an unrestricted free agent with Boston. He was drafted by the Coyotes in Round 1 of the 2004 draft, then played a year in the USHL prior to Minnesota, and was the necessary four years beyond his draft year when he declared his Golden Gophers career finished.
Donato, 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds, recently returned from his tour with Team USA in the Olympic Games at PyeongChang. He’ll head into the ECAC playoffs with a line of 22-11—33 in 25 games, his best points-per-game production in three years with the Crimson.
Rask dinged up
Tuukka Rask, who struggled in Thursday’s 8-4 win over the Penguins, came out of that game with a minor injury, according to Cassidy, which factored in the coach’s decision to start backup Anton Khudobin against the Habs.
“A very, very minor injury for Tuukka,’’ noted Cassidy, “so we’ll give him the extra day and he will play Tuesday [vs. the Red Wings]. Then they’ll split again on the weekend.’’
The Bruins next weekend face the Blackhawks at home on Saturday, followed by a rematch in Chicago on Sunday.
Danton Heinen, a healthy scratch on Thursday, was back in the lineup, which bumped newcomer Tommy Wingels to the pressbox. Newcomers Nash, Holden, and Gionta all were in the lineup vs. the Habs.
Grzelcyk, dealing with a niggling lower-body injury, did not skate on Saturday, but is expected to rejoin full workouts on Monday.
The Bruins will break from their standard off-day routine on Monday and work out at the Garden instead of in Brighton. Prior to the workout, they’ll pose for their annual team picture.
On the dot Despite being without the injured Patrice Bergeron, their No. 1 faceoff man, the Bruins have been exceptionl at the dot of late. They won 53 percent of their drops in Thursday’s 8-4 shellacking of the Penguins, then won 41 of 65 (63 percent) vs. the Habs. David Krejci led the way, snatching 12 of 18, and David Backes, showing his pivot bones again, won 7 of 9 (78 percent). Montreal’s Phillip Danault took a beating, winning but 5 of 17 (29 percent) . . . In part because of McAvoy’s absence, eight Bruins finished with more than 20:00 in ice time, as opposed to only three Habs.
Counting on the captain
Second-year defenseman Brandon Carlo rarely has been paired with Chara this year, following a rookie season in which he was virtually fused at the captain’s right hip.
Nonetheless, the two have kept up their dialogue throughout the season.
“Not as much [as last season], I would say, but that’s just the chemistry of having him as your D partner,’’ said Carlo, paired again Saturday with Torey Krug on the second blueline unit.
“I’d say overall that he’s still that great leader that he’s always been. In games, I might be struggling, or have an off shift, or something like that, he is still there to kind of give me a little nudge and help me out a little bit. So for that aspect he’s still been great.’’
Asked if it’s possible for the 6-foot-9-inch Chara to deliver a mere “little’’ nudge, Carlo laughed and added, “Yeah, it kinda hurts, obviously.’’
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont @globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.
