Childhood pals Adam Fox, Charlie McAvoy involved in scrum during Rangers-Bruins
Dryden Hunt #29 of the Rangers and Charlie McAvoy #73 of the Boston Bruins fight while Trent Frederic #11 tries to separate them during the second period at TD Garden on April 23, 2022 in Boston. Credit: Getty Images/Maddie Meyer
BOSTON – Rangers defenseman Adam Fox and Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy are childhood friends who played youth hockey together on Long Island and are part of the group of elite young defensemen in the NHL right now. But the two pals were involved Saturday in what became a scrum between the teams midway through the second period of the Bruins’ 3-1 win over the Rangers in TD Garden.
It started when McAvoy, who is from Long Beach, checked Fox, the Jericho native, from behind and fell on him. Rangers forward Ryan Strome immediately hit McAvoy and Dryden Hunt went after him, throwing punches that caused the two teams to mix it up.
Hunt and McAvoy ended up with matching roughing penalties at 9:27 of the period.
McAvoy got the upper hand on Fox in the game as McAvoy had an assist on the Bruins’ first goal, by David Pastrnak, with 34.1 seconds remaining in the first period. Fox committed the turnover that led to Taylor Hall’s goal at 1:07 of the second period that gave Boston a 2-0 lead.
Copp, Chytil out with injuries
Ranger forwards Andrew Copp and Filip Chytil both missed the game with lower- and upper-body injuries, respectively. Both players were injured in Thursday’s game against the Islanders and are listed by the team as day-to-day. Greg McKegg and Julien Gauthier entered the lineup to fill their spots.
McKegg had been scratched nine straight games before Saturday. Gauthier had sat out eight straight.
“It's tough on those guys coming in,’’ coach Gerard Gallant said. “They haven't played for, I don't know how long it's been. And you know, they gave it their best. They worked hard, and that's part of the game. But they’ve got to stay ready, and they know that… The playoffs come and you got 27, 28 guys who are gonna be hanging around, and they’ve got to make sure they're ready when they come in. I thought they played fine.’’
Blue notes
D Patrik Nemeth entered the lineup and Justin Braun was scratched, along with RW Jonny Brodzinski and D Libor Hajek… Before the game, the Bruins observed a moment of silence for Hall-of-Famer Guy LaFleur, who died Friday after a long battle with lung cancer.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
