Bruins' McAvoy to have hearing for check to Ekman-Larsson's head
Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy will have a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety for an illegal check to Florida Panthers blue-liner Oliver Ekman-Larsson's head in the third period of Monday's contest.
McAvoy received a five-minute major and game misconduct for the hit.
McAvoy gets a well-deserved misconduct.
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) October 31, 2023
Match penalty for an illegal check to the head on OEL. pic.twitter.com/EYa1NXVHka
Ekman-Larsson was slow to get up on the play and exited the game.
Panthers bench boss Paul Maurice said he thought the hit mirrored one McAvoy laid on Carter Verhaeghe earlier in the game.
When asked about the hit by Charlie McAvoy on Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Paul Maurice said, "I thought it was exactly like the hit on Verhaeghe in the first."
— David Dwork (@DavidDwork) October 31, 2023
Here's that hit. McAvoy had himself some night. pic.twitter.com/HhTKP7TAXk
McAvoy scored the game-tying goal for the Bruins two minutes prior to his ejection. Pavel Zacha ended up striking in overtime to seal the 3-2 comeback victory as Boston improved to 8-0-1 on the season.
Boston had to play down two defensemen for the remainder of the contest, as Matt Grzelcyk exited during the opening frame with an upper-body injury. Head coach Jim Montgomery said he expects Grzelcyk to miss a couple of weeks, according to Boston.com's Conor Ryan.
McAvoy ranks third on Boston with eight points (two goals, six assists) in nine games while averaging a team-high 23:53 minutes of ice time.
McAvoy has previously been banned one game in his NHL career following a hit to Josh Anderson's head during the 2019 Eastern Conference Final.
Boston's next game is Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.