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Charlie McAvoy<\/a> didn’t realize he had been playing through another facial injury until he looked back at photos from Team USA’s gold medal celebration at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Boston Bruins defenseman said the excitement of the moment was so overwhelming that he never noticed his face was covered in blood.<\/p>\n Speaking on the Wingmen with Matthew<\/a> and Brady Tkachuk podcast, McAvoy recalled discovering the injury only after seeing pictures from the postgame celebrations.<\/p>\n “I think someone asked me who I hugged first, and I’m like, I have to go back and watch. Like, I don’t know. And then I’m looking at all the pictures after, and I’m like, why is my face all bloody? Annie’s bottom row legit went through my, like, like, I think I still have, like, the scar here. I was all bloodied up. I was, like, blood on people’s, like, white shirts. I didn’t even know I was bleeding. Probably needed stitches, I didn’t get them.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/template><\/p>\n McAvoy helped Team USA capture the men’s hockey gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, ending the country’s 46-year wait for an Olympic title after an overtime victory in the final.<\/p>\n The defenseman has dealt with multiple facial injuries in recent months. After returning to the Boston Bruins following the Olympics, he suffered another injury to his face during the NHL season.<\/p>\n Despite those setbacks, Charlie McAvoy enjoyed the most productive offensive campaign of his career. He finished the 2025-26 season with 11 goals, 50 assists and 61 points in 69 games, helping Boston remain in the Stanley Cup Playoff<\/a> race.<\/p>\n Charlie McAvoy will miss the first six games of the 2026-27 season after the NHL Department of Player Safety suspended him for slashing.<\/p>\n The incident occurred late in Game 6 of Boston’s first-round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres<\/a>. After falling into the boards following a play involving Zach Benson, McAvoy got back to his feet and swung his stick, striking the Sabres forward with 1:31 remaining in the Bruins’ season.<\/p>\n Explaining the decision, the NHL Department of Player Safety said:<\/p>\n “This is slashing. All parties agree that this is an intentional and forceful strike delivered to an opponent’s body specifically for the purpose of retribution and message sending. In addition, all parties agree that this play occurs outside of actual game play, and in a situation where the outcome of both the game and the series have been decided.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Charlie McAvoy attended an in-person hearing with the league before the suspension was announced. After Game 6, he said he disagreed with the slew foot that led to the sequence involving Benson. On the Bruins’ breakup day, he declined to discuss the incident further, saying he would wait until after meeting with the league.<\/p>\n The suspension is the third of McAvoy’s NHL career. He previously received a one-game ban during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs for an illegal check to the head on then-Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> forward Josh Anderson.<\/p>\nCharlie McAvoy will miss the start of the Bruins’ 2026-27 season<\/h2>\n