Charlie McAvoy Injury Update: Timeline of Boston Bruins star's recovery and expected return date

After losing defenseman Charlie McAvoy midway through the second period, there were some fears of a serious injury. The Bruins' primary objective is to make the playoffs without experiencing any significant injury worries, despite their pursuit of NHL history as they finish the regular season. It seems like the Bs escaped one of those on Thursday.

What happened to Charlie McAvoy?

Charlie McAvoy #73 of the Boston Bruins

After colliding with Patrice Bergeron, McAvoy departed the game with 9:32 remaining in the second period of Boston's 2-1 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. Before exiting the ice, McAvoy slumped down in discomfort and disappeared. Fortunately for Boston, Jim Montgomery provided a positive update on McAvoy following the win.

"We held him back for precautionary reasons," said the Boston head coach. "We don't think it's anything serious."

Even if the injury might not be serious, Charlie McAvoy will certainly miss this weekend's back-to-back games against the Flyers in Philadelphia and the Devils at TD Garden.

David Krejci, who missed Thursday's game due to a lower-body injury, is also likely to skip this weekend's games.

How has Charlie McAvoy affected the team?

With McAvoy ranking second on the club in average ice time per game, Boston's best defenseman has been a major contributor to the team's success this season. With seven goals and 43 assists, he has the second-most in that category, only after fellow blue-liner Hampus Lindholm.

The Bruins are close to breaking the NHL wins record thanks to goals by Pasternak and Coyle

Toronto Maple Leafs v Boston Bruins

The Bruins completed a 2-1 comeback against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2:30 overtime to earn their 61st victory of the season, thanks to David Pastrnak's one-time blast.

Boston now trails the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings and the 2018–19 Tampa Bay Lightning by just one victory in the regular season wins race for the league. It was his 57th goal of the season — his sixth tally in the last five games. This all, despite Charlie McAvoy, missing the game

Boston, which has won four straight games, was helped by the 31 saves made by Jeremy Swayman. Charlie Coyle also scored, thanks to an assist by Brandon Carlo. The Bruins now have four games left in the regular season and have a record of 61-12-5, good for 127 points.

The Montreal Canadiens set the mark with 132 points in the 1976–1977 season. They can break both wins and points records by the end of the season.