Charlie McAvoy suspension: Could Boston Bruins defenseman be penalized for dangerous hit on Oliver Ekman-Larsson?

Following his match penalty and game ejection for an illegal hit during a game against the Florida Panthers on Monday, Boston's top defenseman Charlie McAvoy could find himself in trouble of receiving a further suspension from the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

McAvoy collided with Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson near the Boston net during the third period of the game. The collision, however, occurred when the puck was nowhere near the play, and the point of impact of the hit appeared to be on Ekman-Larsson's head.

As a result of his hit on the player, Charlie McAvoy received a match penalty and was ejected from the game.

The hit appeared to be dangerous, and as a result, the NHL's Department of Player Safety will investigate the matter, which could apparently result in a fine or a three- to four-game suspension. In fact, it can be much less, depending on the situation and intensity of the hit.

"Charlie McAvoy can expect a call from Player Safety tomorrow... maybe he should plan a short vacation, say, 3-4 games or so. Match penalty for the hit. Suspension should be incoming."

How did Charlie McAvoy's Boston Bruins beat the Florida Panthers?

The Boston Bruins (8-0-1) hosted the Florida Panthers (4-3-1) at TD Garden on Monday. They beat the Cats 3-2 in overtime. The Florida Panthers started to dominate the game early on, as they were up by two goals before the second period.

In the first period, at the 6:13 mark, Aleksander Barkov's wrist shot goal gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead. With less than five minutes remaining into the first intermission, Sam Reinhart's wrist shot goal coming off Barkov's assist put the Panthers up by 2-0.

In the second period, the Boston Bruins mounted a brilliant comeback. At the 3:38 mark, Brad Marchand scored a wrist shot goal to cut down the Panthers' lead to 2-1. This was the only goal scored in the second period.

In the third period, Charlie McAvoy, before getting ejected from the game, scored the equalizer for the Bruins after converting the assists from David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha to the back of the net for a wrist shot goal. In overtime, Pavel Sacha sealed the eighth win for the Bruins.

The Bruins' next play is against the Toronto Maple Leafs (5-2-1) on Thursday, Nov. 2. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. ET.