And now we get you back to regularly scheduled programming.
While Brad Marchand is breaking out as a star player this season, sitting third in the NHL in goals (39) and points (85), he still has those head-scratching moments that leave you fuming. Just this season Marchand has been fined for slew-footing Niklas Kronwall — and although he said that’s the kind of thing he needs to remove from his game, he did it again less than a week later to Anton Stralman.
Since the Bruins are in a heated playoff race with just three games left in the season, you’d think Marchand would be on his best behaviour and hungry to help his team. Instead, he reverted to the same kind of cheap and bad behaviour we’ve come to expect from him.
In Tuesday’s game against Tampa Bay, with a little less than a minute left in the first period, Marchand senselessly speared Lightning defenceman Jake Dotchin in the groin sending him crumpling to the ice in pain (view at the top). Marchand got a five-minute major (which the Bruins killed off) and a game misconduct, leaving the Bruins without one of the most important players in a key game.
Well done.
The spear is the worst part of this play for sure, but watch right after that as Marchand turns around to appeal to the referee and sticks a struggling Dotchin in the face, adding insult to injury.
Supplemental discipline should surely be on the table here, although Marchand may be able to avoid it given the call on the ice. With playoffs right around the corner, we should at most look for Marchand to receive two games since that’s all the Bruins have left on their schedule. It would seem highly unlikely the league would sit him for playoff games if the Bruins make it.
What do you think?
[relatedlinks]
