Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy receives four-game suspension for illegal check to the head and interference on Panthers’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Days after former Boston Bruin Connor Clifton earned a suspension for an illegal check to the head, current Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy has been dealt the same fate.
On Tuesday evening, the NHL announced that McAvoy has been given a four-game suspension for an illegal check to the head and interference on Florida Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
The incident happened halfway through the third period of Boston’s 3-2 overtime win Monday night. McAvoy ventured deep into Florida’s zone and, after Ekman-Larsson attempted to play a bouncing puck, McAvoy hammered him with a blindside hit:
McAvoy ejected from the game for this hit pic.twitter.com/JejjeSHJCh
— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) October 31, 2023
The play earned McAvoy a five-minute match penalty. It drew the ire of the NHL DOPS for two reasons in this case: (a) the principal point of contact was Ekman-Larsson’s head and (b) the hit was late enough to qualify as interference.
McAvoy has been suspended once before in his career; it was in 2019, meaning he’s not technically a repeat offender as he doesn’t have two infractions within an 18-month window, but the previous suspension was for an illegal check to the head. The DOPS will undoubtedly take into consideration the fact McAvoy has repeated the same dangerous behavior in the past. Ekman-Larsson is still being evaluated for a head injury.
McAvoy was enjoying the best start of his career heading into last night. He’d compiled two goals and eight points in nine games while averaging 23:53 of ice time. The Bruins, leading the Eastern Conference with an 8-0-1 record, have outscored opponents 9-3 with McAvoy on the ice at 5-on-5 this season.