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The biggest was ever in the building.
He was standing a few steps away from the elevators in the bowels of TD Garden a few hours before the match.
Everyone wanted to see him. When Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy arrived for the second game of the second day of the Eastern Conference, Bobby Orr greeted him with a handshake, a smile and a few words of "goodbye". encouragement.
The most recent record was on the ice, recording 22:40 of ice time, at 42, still struggling against unstable ice conditions and some of the heaviest Columbus Blue Jackets players were trying to win the Bruins. And with a lead on the line, Zdeno Chara has a top spot in two key games by a couple of his younger defensive colleagues.
The best-of-the-best took place in the midst of the Bruins' 4-3 wild win, as Boston lost a two-goal lead before beating David Pastrnak's goal with a time of 1:28 to play.
But which Boston defender is the best future? Is it Brandon Carlo or Charlie McAvoy? Time will tell, but in the fifth game, it is the two pillars of the future Bruins defense corps that have proven themselves.
Carlo scored 21:27 of ice time, skating for 2:32, in two shoot-outs against the Bruins and with 13:48 of 5-on-5 ice time against the Blue Jackets sniper, Artemi Panarin. Bruins assistant coach Kevin Dean loves the fight against the mobile, Carlo, in the face of the elusive Panarin. He told 22-year-old Carlo to review the goals every time Panarin did, even with the Panarin pass. and play on just about every line for a Blue Jackets team that dressed 11 forwards.
The Bruins had a 15-10 shot advantage advantage when Carlo faced Panarin on equal strength and Panarin was limited to a shot at the net all night. Carlo said that Dean had told him to make sure of his presence against Panarin as often as possible, and after the first period, the coach whispered in Carlo's ear to realize the double shift.
"I like these opportunities to confront me to players like him, in particular. And I had a lot of fun doing it, "said Carlo, who is playing in his first playoff games, but who looks a lot like the veteran he's been after since his NHL breakthrough in 2006.
It was not all the wine and roses for Carlo. He found himself stuck in a no man's park when Josh Anderson's ice pass passed through the defender's legs and left his skate for Panarin to set the goal for Dean Kukan who tied for 3-3 with a score of 6:02 in the third period.
But Carlo did what a defender of his kind can not often do: he made a huge offensive game after a superb clutch defensive play. Carlo won the last battle against Panarin at the top of the Boston round with 1m39 remaining. Carlo won the puck and made a blue-line, blue-line diagonal pass to Brad Marchand for the installation of the Pastrnak winner.
"It was good that I could have my stick and a little body on it. And I'm happy to be able to get the turnover and make it evolve, "said Carlo.
Chara, the still-defending defenseman still in Boston, was impressed by Carlo's performance.
"He had an incredible and strong game," said the Bruins captain.
McAvoy started the fifth game like a beast, walking on the ice with the puck and pounding any Blue Jacket puckers who came close to him. He finished with an ice time of 24:31, the highest total of his team (an event common in these series) and had one of the best games of his career. But even he was out of position against Ryan Dzingel's goal, which reduced Boston's lead to 3-2 with 7:53 to go.
Like Carlo, McAvoy, who is expected to be the Bruins' No. 1 defenseman for the coming years, has not dropped his head after adversity. With Panarin open at the top of the top left circle for a delay after a Marchand gift on the blue line, McAvoy dipped barefoot first and grabbed the entire puck with his right foot to make sure the puck did not go down. Did not even test Tuukka Rask.
"So, I knew I could not get a stick out there, my best chance was to sell and hope for the best. And of course, I was fortunate to be able to put a foot on it, "McAvoy said.
Carlo said: "It was fantastic. This is the kind of blockbuster you tell stories in the future. "
Orr has his stories and Chara too. Sometimes thinking of the Bruins without Chara can be a horror story, but it seems that Carlo and McAvoy are writing a lot of fantastic stories. There is no doubt that their performances in Game 5 will be an early chapter. A Stanley Cup championship would certainly be an exciting end.
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