COLUMBUS, Ohio — Brad Marchand has regrets. Not about giving a prone Scott Harrington a shot in the back of the head, but for getting caught on camera doing it.
That forced him to step in front of reporters between games in this second-round series and face another round of loaded questions about his ability to straddle the line between agitator and aggravator.
"You know it’s probably not something that I’d go back and do it again," Marchand said Wednesday.
Most of the online outrage stemming from the Game 3 incident was fuelled by who initiated it. The jab itself was relatively harmless — Harrington, the Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman, certainly didn’t seem too bothered by it — but it placed Marchand under the microscope for the wrong reasons.
Both he and centre Patrice Bergeron have been held without a point while falling behind the Blue Jackets 2-1, which explains in part why they’ll be reunited with David Pastrnak to start Game 4 here on Thursday.
They formed one of the most dangerous lines in hockey during the regular season but have only been part-time partners in these playoffs — with Bergeron having played 66:52 with Danton Heinen at even strength, compared to 58:54 with Pastrnak.
Bruce Cassidy needs more from his big dogs, especially with Sergei Bobrovsky looking entirely capable of locking things down in the Blue Jackets net.
From Marchand, the Bruins coach is asking for a more disciplined approach. The feisty left-winger managed to play seven games against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 1 without taking a penalty, but has already been whistled for a cross-checking and high-sticking minor in this series — both of which led to Columbus power-play goals.
"You’re going to take penalties through the course of the game if you’re competing," said Cassidy. "Marchy will do that on pucks. Those ones that are sort of away from the play, maybe, we’ve got to talk to them about those. We need him on the ice.
"The way the series has gone, every power play’s been crucial both ways. So we’ve got to make sure that he plays hard between the whistles."
Marchand isn’t likely to get much benefit of the doubt at this stage — not from referees Chris Rooney and Gord Dwyer in Game 4, and not from the NHL’s department of player safety should he cross the line in more egregious fashion than he did with the Harrington jab.
Commissioner Gary Bettman even offered up comment on that incident during an appearance in Ottawa on Wednesday, saying Marchand "should look forward to a suspension" if he’s caught doing something similar again.
To say No. 63 is on the radar is probably an understatement, which is why Cassidy had a quick chat with him between games to "remind him how valuable he is to the team, that it’s playoff hockey, that your name or number is circled in their locker room: ‘We’ve got to get this guy off his game."’
"What does that mean?" Cassidy added. "It means you’re one of the better players. If you weren’t a good player you wouldn’t be targeted. So you’ve got to understand that there’s a little bit that goes along with it and he’s got to find that balance on the ice."
As much as the focus on Marchand generally centres around his antics, it’s his offensive production that will probably make the biggest difference in which way this tight series falls. The 100-point dynamo has generated nine shots on goal through three games and helped the Bruins carry play while on the ice, but hasn’t had a ton of quality scoring chances.
It may help explain his renewed interest in some extra-curricular activities.
"Generally, if he starts having some level of success, that stuff goes away," said Cassidy. "There is frustration when top guys don’t score. Not just our top guys, ask players around the league that are used to scoring, they get frustrated this time of year.
"There’s a little more pressure, you don’t have as much time to work your way out of it, so there’s a little bit of that going on, I assume, with our group."
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