Bruins’ U.S. Olympian has surgery after being hit by puck in face

Boston Bruins defenseman and U.S. Olympian Charlie McAvoy had facial surgery and is recovering at home after being hit by a puck last weekend.

Bruins coach Marco Sturm told reporters on Tuesday, Nov. 19, that there was no timetable for when McAvoy could return.

McAvoy left the Bruins’ Nov. 15 game midway through the second period after being struck by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Noah Dobson’s shot. He was bleeding and needed help getting off the ice at Montreal’s Bell Centre. He didn’t return.

McAvoy was one of the first six players named to Team USA for the 2026 Winter Olympics, and he is the fifth member of that group to miss time this season with an injury.

Charlie McAvoy injury update

Sturm provided a Wednesday, Nov. 19 update on McAvoy after he had facial surgery.

‘He’s doing good,’ Sturm told reporters. ‘He’s recovering right now at home and we still don’t know how long he’s going to be out for.’

McAvoy already missed one game on Monday and didn’t accompany the team on its trip.

He was the Bruins’ leader in average ice time at more than 23 minutes a game. He had 14 points, all assists, in 19 games.

U.S. Olympians injury updates

McAvoy, who was unable to finish the 4 Nations Face-Off and missed the rest of the NHL season because of an injury suffered in Montreal, was one of the first six players named to Team USA.

Four others have missed time.

• Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk had offseason hernia surgery. He’s expected to return to on-ice activities in less than two weeks.
• Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk is recovering from October thumb surgery. He was on the ice on Friday and his original timeline has him out until at least Thanksgiving. Coach Travis Green said Friday he could be back in two weeks.
• Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes sat out Friday’s game with an undisclosed injury. He had missed four games earlier in the season. He was back in the lineup on Sunday and had four assists.
• Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews suffered a lower-body injury on Nov. 11 when checked by Boston’s Nikita Zadorov. He has been placed on the injured list, retroactive to Nov. 11. “He’s coming along. He skated this morning,’ Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said on Tuesday, Nov. 18. ‘We’ve listed him as day to day. Obviously not going to play tonight. I would suspect Thursday is probably not a possibility. Probably after Thursday, at least we get a little bit better sense of how things are responding. I don’t anticipate too, too long.”

Vegas’ Jack Eichel was the other player named earlier this year. The deadline for submitting rosters is Dec. 31.

New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes, who’s in the mix to make the team, had surgery on his finger after an accident at a team dinner on Nov. 13. He’s out for eight weeks.