Charlie McAvoy and Sandis Vilmanis shared a calm moment after USA beat Latvia 5-1, and it was not the ending anyone expected.

The tension started before the Olympic break, when Vilmanis caught McAvoy with a high hit in their last NHL game.

McAvoy wore the damage, and he made sure everyone saw it.

He posted the clip and the swelling on his face online, clearly unhappy that nothing more came from it.

That kind of public callout usually comes with a promise, even if it is unspoken.

Then the Winter Olympics schedule served the perfect setup, USA versus Latvia, right away.

The broadcast angle was obvious, because hockey loves a payback storyline.

Vilmanis is only 22, a 2022 fifth-round pick by the Florida Panthers, and suddenly he is tied to a Bruins cornerstone on the biggest stage.

McAvoy did not bite.

He played his game, kept his shifts tight, and let the scoreboard do the talking.

Team USA pulled away and the tone shifted from grudges to reality, because Latvia had no room to push back once the Americans found their legs.

McAvoy still carried the kind of edge that makes him Boston’s heartbeat, but he did not chase a moment that could cost his team.

Charlie McAvoy and the Boston Bruins standard shows up

Bruins fans were ready to cheer a little revenge, and I get it, because that hit before the break still feels unresolved.

Instead, the handshake line delivered the twist.

McAvoy and Vilmanis paused after the line moved on, and they shared a few words like two pros who understood the difference between anger and respect.

It looked like McAvoy choosing control, not forgetting.

Now the Bruins get him back with a bigger target on his shoulders, because every opponent knows he will answer the right way, with minutes, leadership, and wins.