ONE SLASH IN MAY STILL COST BOSTON SIX GAMES IN OCTOBER! | Charlie McAvoy

Charlie McAvoy returns to Boston's lineup Tuesday against San Jose after missing the first six games of the season — but that suspension was never about this season. It was handed down in May, during Game Six of Boston's first round playoff series, for a major penalty and game misconduct on a slash against Buffalo's Zach Benson. The NHL's carryover mechanism means a playoff suspension that outlasts a team's remaining postseason games gets served at the start of the next regular season instead, which is exactly why McAvoy's punishment landed in October rather than May. Ottawa's Ridly Greig served the same kind of carryover suspension this same month, proof the rule applies as a standard, not as an exception. McAvoy, drafted fourteenth overall in 2016 out of Boston University, says he plans to keep his shifts short Tuesday while he re-acclimates. — SOURCES — The Hockey Beast, NHL Suspensions to Start 2026-27: McAvoy, Greig, Hellebuyck (carryover mechanism and the Greig comparison): https://www.thehockeybeast.com/nhl/nh... Narration are AI generated. #CharlieMcAvoy #BostonBruins #BruinsNews