It didn't take long for Brad Marchand to get his fingerprints on the Eastern Conference Final.
Marchand received a 10-minute misconduct in the third period of Tuesday's series-opening contest against the Carolina Hurricanes after some extra-curriculars led to a short fight with Shayne Gostisbehere.
The Florida Panthers forward took a run at Gostisbehere while the Hurricanes defenceman was battling for the puck in his own end, shooting for what looked to be a late hit.
While no penalty was called on the play, Gostisbehere took matters into his own hands, firing the puck at Marchand just seconds later.
Marchand then charged the 11-year NHL veteran before the two briefly exchanged blows with Florida leading 4-1.
Officials handed Gostisbehere a two-minute penalty for roughing, meanwhile, Marchand got the 10-minute misconduct and four minutes for roughing. With just over 11 minutes left in the game, Marchand's night was over early.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice was asked about the call after his team's 5-2 win.
"I've got one (an opinion)," he said. "I'm going to keep that to myself."
Marchand didn't crack the scoresheet before getting the boot, but the notorious pest made his mark physically, laying four hits in 13:01 of ice time.
Given his post-season résumé, this seems unlikely to be the last time Marchand gets under the Hurricanes' skin in the best-of-seven with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line.
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