BOSTON — Charlie McAvoy can’t pinpoint the date he’ll return to the Bruins’ lineup.
The rookie defenseman is sure, however, that soon after that day comes, he’ll be the same Charlie McAvoy who established himself as one of the NHL’s best new blue-liners before his season was interrupted by a procedure to correct an abnormal heart rhythm.
“I have no reason to think I’d come back different,” McAvoy, 20, said on Monday, one week after the procedure was performed at Mass. General Hospital, and a few minutes before he skated for the first time since the procedure. “Maybe just some extra time to get back.
“I’m one week removed. I feel good. We’ll get back out there, get on the ice, see how things are going. When the time’s right, I’ll get back.”
McAvoy, who skated lightly and briefly at Warrior Arena before his teammates prepared for Tuesday’s game against the Ducks at TD Garden, played for nearly two months — a total of 24 games — after his condition was diagnosed following a Nov. 26 game against the Oilers. He said it wasn’t the first time he had experienced heart palpitations.
“I’d had occasional [episodes], probably a handful of times, where I’d felt it before,” he said. “Didn’t really know what it was. It was a little bit scary. But the November episode … was a little bit longer than all the other ones.”
Team internist Dr. David Finn examined McAvoy immediate after that Nov. 26 game, and arrangements were made to consult specialists. McAvoy’s condition, known as a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), was treated last Monday with a procedure called an ablation.
“They are able to isolate a bundle, or an extra electrical tissue circuit, that creates this abnormal heart rhythm,” Finn said. “They can destroy the extra tissue there, and once that’s gone, it doesn’t come back again.”
Assured that the SVT “was not life-threatening, and not dangerous to my overall health,” McAvoy began to think about when to have the ablation. Armed with medical staffers’ “100 percent (certainty) that Charlie was able to play, and was at zero risk,” according to general manager Don Sweeney, McAvoy felt safe enough to continue playing until the procedure was performed — although he never completely forgot about his condition.
“Of course,” he said. “The likelihood of it happening again was there, and that’s something that kind of sticks with you.
“We kind of talked about a little strategy, if it did come back -- I’d remove myself from the game and allow myself time to get my heart back and feel good. Luckily, we didn’t get to that point.”
McAvoy, who faced the near-certainty of experiencing further episodes without the ablation, had discovered that “it’s something I can’t play with when I have it … I can’t be in the middle of an episode and mentally be attentive to the hockey game. I’m more worried about my heart getting back to normal.”
The just-concluded NHL All-Star break was pinpointed as an ideal time to schedule the procedure. McAvoy, who was expected to need two weeks to recover, missed the Bruins’ last two games before the break, and has a follow-up visit scheduled later this week.
“That will clarify his return to play,” Sweeney said. “We had always said it was likely a two-week [recovery] … but a lot of it will be determined how Charlie feels.”
“We have a strategy for getting back up to speed, and I feel comfortable with it,” said McAvoy, the NHL’s rookie leader in ice-time-per game (22 minutes, 48 seconds) in spite of his condition. “I’m not afraid to tell them exactly how I feel – if I’m ready, if I’m not. We’ll go about it together.”
Around the boards
With wingers Brad Marchand (NHL suspension) and Noel Acciari (lower body injury) unavailable against the Ducks, the Bruins recalled Anders Bjork from AHL Providence on an emergency basis. Bjork played on Thursday against the Senators, then returned to the P-Bruins on Friday. … Coach Bruce Cassidy said No. 2 goalie Anton Khudobin will try to extend the Bruins’ 14-0-4 points streak on Tuesday. Tuukka Rask, 16-0-2 in his last 18 decisions, is scheduled to face the Blues on Thursday and the Maple Leafs on Saturday.