The game before the Boston Bruins hit the Olympic break on Feb. 4 against the Florida Panthers, it appeared that defenseman Charlie McAvoy might not have had his opportunity to play in the games to represent Team USA. Panthers forward Sandis Vilmanis hit him in the head with an elbow. McAvoy was down for a while before being helped off the ice.
Amazingly, he returned for the second period and finished the game in what was a 5-4 shootout loss to Florida. There was no disciplinary action from the NHL, and both players headed to Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics. It just so happened that Latvia and Team USA met up in the first game for each country on Thursday afternoon. After Team USA's 5-1 victory, Vilmanis and McAvoy exchanged words after the game. Boston's defenseman, who is keeping a journal for The Athletic, wrote an excerpt about the two exchanging words, which seemed pleasant.
McAvoy wrote the following, “He did apologize after the [US-Latvia] game. I probably shouldn’t get into it because what he said was between us, but I appreciated it.''
There was never going to be any retaliation in the Olympics, but the two teams do meet one more time in April in South Florida.
Jeremy Swayman gets start for Team USA
Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman backed up Connor Hellebuyck in the opener for Team USA, who will play Denmark on Saturday afternoon. With a final game looming before the medal round next week on Sunday against Germany, Boston's netminder will get the start on Saturday.
According to Emily Kaplan of ESPN, Swayman will get the start against Denmark. Swayman has been very good for the Bruins this season in a bounce-back season, and he is a big reason why they are holding onto the second and final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Busy Sunday for Bruins' Olympians
It will be a busy Sunday for Bruins players in the Olympics. At 6 a.m., David Pastrnak and Czechia will face off with Switzerland. At 1 p.m., Dans Locmelis and Latvia will play Denmark, while McAvoy, Swayman, and Team USA will close out the day at 3 p.m. against Germany.