When you sit down and sift through the box score of the Bruins thrilling 4-3 victory in Game 5 Saturday night, you’ll draw your attention to David Pastrnak, his game-high seven shots and his two goals.
You’ll draw your attention to Tuukka Rask and his 29 saves, many of which were not-so-easy stops.
You may even draw your attention to Brad Marchand and his three-point night.
But what you won’t find in the box score are two plays that inside the Bruins dressing room they’ll tell you were two of the biggest of the game.
One being Brandon Carlo’s shutdown of Artemi Panarin seconds before Pastrnak’s game-winning goal. The other being Charlie McAvoy’s blocked shot on Panarin’s attempt at another Blue Jackets’ game-tying goal.
Let’s start with Carlo.
Playing in his first career postseason,—injuries caused him to miss each of the Bruins last two postseasons—Carlo has elevated his game as head coach Bruce Cassidy continues to rely on the 22-year old for big minutes against key opponents.
Panarin was Carlo’s target all night long. As Cassidy rolled out different trios of forwards against the Blue Jackets’ top weapon, Carlo remained a constant anytime Panarin jumped off the visiting bench.
“Brando’s [Carlo] been doing it not just all playoff long, but all-year long. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves; he ends more plays than I’ve seen by anybody in this league to be honest,” Carlo’s d-partner Torey Krug said.
“Then he gets rewarded with an assist on the game-winning goal, it’s a big moment for our team. He takes one of the best one-on-one players in the world and ends a one-one-one and off we go and get a goal. A great job by him.”
Of the 24:36 of ice time Panarin had in Game 5, 16:04 of it came with Carlo on the ice. When both Panarin and Carlo were on the ice together, the Blue Jackets had 46% of the shot attempts. When Panarin was roaming around the ice with Carlo on the bench, Columbus had 74% of the shot attempts.
Carlo was on the ice when Panarin found defenseman Dean Kukan for his first career playoff goal. But as Cassidy pointed out following the victory, Carlo was in the right position as he blocked a pass intended for Panarin. But unfortunately for him, it took the right bounce for Panarin and the Blue Jackets.
“The tying goal hit Brandon’s foot actually and he was responsible for that lane; he was in it,” added Cassidy. “So, we did a good job there, just our forward didn’t read off Brandon and close the play out to the point unfortunately.”
The whole sequence by Carlo that led to Pastrnak’s second goal of the night was the perfect example of what Carlo has done all playoffs long and why he's been so successful.
Being responsible for shutting down the other team’s top goal scorers is no easy task, but going up against names like Auston Matthews, John Tavares and now Panarin, Carlo has been excellent at doing so.
“He’s [Panarin] a great player obviously, he’s very shifty, he does a really good job of getting to the inside so just trying to eliminate that opportunity for him, it was good that I could get my stick and body on him,” added Carlo. “Glad we could get the turnover and get it moving the other way.”
After Carlo’s stop of Panarin and ensuing goal by Pastrnak, the Bruins still had to finish off another 1:28 of what was a wild third period.
That’s where McAvoy comes in.
After Marchand failed to get the puck out of the zone in what should have been an easy clear, the puck found Panarin just inside the left faceoff circle. But Panarin’s shot never got to Rask nor Cam Atkinson who was all alone in front of Rask.
Taking a page out of John Tortorella’s playbook, McAvoy came up with the biggest shot block of the game.
“That was a great block. We kind of turned the puck over a couple of times there. Definitely didn’t want to do that, but he sacrificed and made a great block,” said Rask. “He’s [Panarin] one of the best players shooting there one-timer, so who knows what would have happened.”
“What Chuck [McAvoy] did there, it hurts to win, sacrificing the body, blocking a big shot, who knows what happens if that gets by him,” added Krug.
Bruins fans were left holding their breath after the block as McAvoy immediately skated off the ice and down the tunnel. After walking through the Bruins locker room with no limp and no signs of trouble, McAvoy addressed the big blocked shot following the win.
“I mean, I knew I kind of didn’t have a – I wasn’t going to be able to get my stick out there,” said McAvoy. “He [Panarin] did a good job of popping out to an area, so I kind of just dove and got lucky that it hit me.”
But how’s the foot?
“Yeah. It’s fine,” said McAvoy.
McAvoy was excellent all game long, but the block on Panarin was the icing on the cake.
“Yeah, you want to leave your imprint on the game in any way possible, and like I said, I got lucky. I threw my body out there, and I was fortunate enough that it hit me. Whatever it takes, right?” added McAvoy.
“These young guys were able to rise up to the moment, big contributors to the win, and you have to if you’re going to win at this time of the year because they’re young guys that are playing in our lineup,” said Cassidy.
At 22-years old (Carlo), and 21-years old (McAvoy), the bright lights and intensity of the Stanley Cup Playoffs can often overwhelm younger players. Luckily for the Bruins, Carlo and McAvoy haven’t been acting their age.
Boston Bruins Blogger • 
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