Charlie McAvoy took a brutal head shot in Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers, and the fallout turned into a full-on fight for respect.

The hit came in the first period with McAvoy skating the puck through the neutral zone. Panthers forward Sandis Vilmanis caught him high and late, leaving his skates and clipping McAvoy in the head with an elbow.

McAvoy dropped to the ice and needed help getting off, then disappeared down the tunnel. For a few minutes, it felt like Boston was watching its season tilt, and maybe its Olympic hopes with it.

The part that set everyone off was what came next, because Boston didn’t get the power play fans expected. Vilmanis only got a two-minute illegal check to the head minor, and then the penalties piled up fast in the scrum.

Jonathan Aspirot got called for roughing after going after Vilmanis, and the Bruins bench got nailed for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Instead of an extended advantage, Boston ended up on the penalty kill, and that’s where Marco Sturm snapped.

Marco Sturm puts the league on blast

You could feel Bruins fans boiling, because this is the exact moment they want the organization loud, not polite.

Sturm didn’t sugarcoat it afterward, saying, “It was a brutal hit,” and adding, “to come out with a four-on-four like that. I just didn’t understand it.”

Then he went straight to the point: “I’m here to protect my guys, especially Charlie,” and “if you target his head, which was clear to see, that just pisses me off.”

Boston did answer physically later, with Tanner Jeannot dropping A.J. Greer and landing a few clean right hands.

The best news arrived at the start of the second period when McAvoy returned to the bench and finished the night.

David Pastrnak summed it up simply: “He’s a warrior,” and “we were really happy he came back.”

The Bruins still lost 5-4 in a shootout, but the bigger memory is the hit, the whistle, and the anger that came with both.