From the very beginning, the special quality that Charlie McAvoy possesses was apparent.

Thrown into the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Ottawa Senators in 2017 with nothing but four games in Providence separating his days at Boston University from the NHL, McAvoy has been on a trajectory that would one day lead him to be the Bruins’ next No. 1 defenseman.

That day, clearly, has arrived.

In Monday’s 4-3 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 2, McAvoy was an absolute horse. In a game-high 26:49 of ice time, McAvoy was a plus-4 with five shots on net, five hits and the Bruins had a shot attempts advantage of 33-18 while he was on the ice. While he didn’t pick up a point in the game, his crashing of the net – without interfering with goalie Craig Anderson (at least not obviously enough to challenge) – was instrumental in allowing Taylor Hall to score the tying goal late in regulation.

This season has been a big step forward for the 23-year-old McAvoy, who leads the Bruins into Game 3 against the Capitals Wednesday in Boston with the best-of-seven series tied, 1-1.

Early in his career, he benefited greatly from the presence of former captain Zdeno Chara as a guiding big-brother type. Now it seems he’s also gotten a boost because of Chara’s absence, at least in part.

McAvoy started the season with Jeremy Lauzon as his partner and is now settling in with Matt Grzelcyk. Regardless of who he’s been paired with, McAvoy, with his level of responsibility growing this year, should be in the conversation for the Norris Trophy given the the league’s top defenseman.

“He’s had more on his plate, kind of the leader on his pair whereas in the past, he’s been gravitating toward that but obviously, with Z’s experience, it was a different animal,” said Coach Bruce Cassidy. “And we’re trying to build more and more into his game without overloading. You do that much defending against good players and you’re being asked to drive your offense, now he’s doing more penalty-killing at times when Kevan Miller and (Brandon) Carlo were hurt.

“Everything we give him, he seems to excel at. And the thing that goes unnoticed about Charlie is he plays a lot of hard minutes but he recovers well. He just has a real ability to reset and get back out there. I don’t know if he’s got extra-large lungs or what but he’s a guy that can recover well and get back to a top level very quickly.”

As was the case with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, McAvoy was one of the players who was able to lift his performance after a disappointing Game 1. The simple fact that he can puts him in a different category, said Cassidy.

“I think Charlie, of all the guys, has the ability to elevate. That’s the difference,” said Cassidy. “We try to tell our guys, ‘Stay in the moment and own your moment.’ When there’s an opportunity and it’s your turn, go make a play if that’s what’s on the table. He puts himself in those positions more than most and that’s why he is who he is.”

AFTER MONDAY’S GAME, Marchand said that Bergeron “reeled me in” after he had taken a couple of penalties. In discussing the professional vibe around the team, Cassidy revealed that the captain also had a calming influence on him in the hectic early minutes of Game 2.

“I know I got fired up early when they were physical and we were under siege a little bit and could have dealt with it better. That’s one where Bergie said, ‘Hey, settle down, we’ve got this.’ And it’s good. We have that relationship,” said Cassidy. “We don’t mind if guys speak up. And then it’s our job to go over and say, ‘That’s it, you got it out of your system. Settle down, let’s play.’ That’s how we handle it.”

NOTES: Washington Coach Peter Laviolette, who doesn’t divulge much, did not have an update on Lars Eller, who left Game 2 with a lower-body injury. He’s termed it day-to-day. Same goes for Vitek Vanecek, the goalie injured early in Game 1. Meanwhile, top-six forward Evgeny Kuznetsov and goalie Ilya Samsonov, both of whom came off the COVID list over the weekend, were traveling with the team to Boston. No word yet if they’ll be available for Game 3. … Laviolette did not explain why Chara played so little in the third period (1:48) of Game 2, but said he’ll be ready to play in Game 3. Chara took part in the team’s optional skate on Tuesday. … Charlie Coyle was selected as the Bruins nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in the community.

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