Charlie McAvoy knew it wasn’t good, as did everyone watching.
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“Yeah,I knew.I knew we were in trouble there,” McAvoy said Friday.”I had never taken one before, but you don’t take a slap shot too the jaw… I knew right away I was in some trouble.”
He was, and now we finally know what the damage from that slap shot to the face in Montreal ended up being.
“We had just a linear fracture right here,” McAvoy told reporters, pointing to a scar below the left side of his mouth, “all the way down and some displacement, and lost a lot of teeth on my bottom.”
He didn’t feel the need to elaborate any further than that.
“I’ll save you the visual. Take my word for it.”
McAvoy suffered the injury on Nov. 15 and underwent surgery a few days later. One of the biggest challenges since then has been nutrition. McAvoy said he would be unable to eat solid food for six weeks from the date of surgery, meaning he is only about halfway through that timetable right now.
The good news is that McAvoy is back skating with his teammates now, taking part in Thursday’s morning skate and Friday’s practice at Warrior ice Arena. That has been a welcome sight for Bruins players and coaches, but probably an even more welcome growth for McAvoy himself.
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