Boston Bruins: Matchup with Buffalo pits former BU Terriers against each other

Thursday night’s matchup between the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres will feel more like a Boston University alumni gathering than an NHL game. The Bruins and Sabres each have two former Terriers on their squads.

Boston features two Terriers on defense, while Buffalo comes to town with two forwards. As such, we may see plenty of BU-on-BU battles.

McAvoy and Grzelcyk on defense for the Bruins

Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk of course are the two former BU Terriers who currently man Boston’s defense.

McAvoy played two seasons at BU, where he had 51 total points in 75 NCAA games. The Bruins picked McAvoy in the first round of the NHL Draft after his freshman season. He did return for his second year in college.

After his sophomore year, McAvoy signed with Boston and went pro. Although he left early, he certainly made an impact with the program.

Grzelcyk, unlike McAvoy, played all four years with BU. He had an impressive run with the Terriers, and he emerged as a solid two-way threat from the backend. Grzelcyk actuall had 38 points in only 41 points one year.

McAvoy and Grzelcyk did have some overlap at BU, as they were teammates on the 2015-2016 squad. McAvoy was the hotshot freshman while Grzelcyk was the grizzled senior. Now, they are teammates again, and they even are defense partners at times.

Eichel and Rodrigues up front for the Sabres

Buffalo rocks a couple of BU Terriors up front: Jack Eichel and Evan Rodrigues.

Many scouts considered Eichel a phenom before he stepped foot on BU’s campus. He certainly didn’t disappoint.

Eichel had 71 points in 40 games as a freshman at BU. He helped lead the Terriers to the National Championship game, but they fell to Providence.

After his impressive year in college, Buffalo took Eichel with the second pick in the draft. To nobody’s surprise, Eichel left school and went straight to the NHL.

Rodrigues had a different path to the NHL. Like Grzelcyk, he played four years at BU before he was ready to go pro.

As a senior, Rodrigues had 61 points in 41 games. This was the same year that Eichel was at BU, so the Terriers, as you can imagine, had quite the offense.

Now, Eichel and Rodrigues are teammates once again, but the circumstances are different. Eichel anchors the top line and leads the team with 25 points. Rodrigues is a bottom-six player who only has two points in limited action this year.

All eyes will be on McAvoy and Eichel Thursday night, and for good reason. They are elite players with local ties. That said, we cannot forget about Grzelcyk and Rodrigues. BU Terriors always seem to make an impact at the TD Garden.