Apr 22, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Boston Bruins right wing Jarome Iginla (12) helps escort left wing Brad Marchand (63) off the ice after being injured in the second period against the Detroit Red Wings in game three of the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Brad Marchand is a pest and one of the better players in the NHL when comes to getting under other players skin and apparently under the skin of a lot of NHL fans and sports writers in the process. He also has been known to take a dive or two and at times has even embellished to draw a call. Its professional sports, he’s hardly the first guy to do this and he won’t be the last but because of how he plays and who he plays for it becomes national news when he may be trying to pull a fast one.
Which is why during Game 3 of the Boston Bruins first round matchup versus the Detroit Red Wings Marchand was the victim of a blatant knee to knee hit at the Red Wings blue line courtesy of Brendan Smith and went for a tumble before staying on the ice for a bit, no one believed he was actually injured.
Smith was called for a penalty and rightfully so but because of who he hit, it sparked the crowd at Joe Louis Arena to start chanting “Bullsh*t”. Can only imagine how people would be reacting if that was a Boston crowd chanting that as an opposing player lay on the ice but I digress.
When Marchand finally got up he was clutching and stretching the knee that hadn’t been hit and this almost immediately prompted Tweets and Facebook posts about how he must have dove or embellished because he was holding the wrong knee. Maybe he was embellishing but maybe he wasn’t, I don’t know and you know why? It’s because I’m not Marchand and I’ve never taken a hit like that in the NHL or at that speed. What I can tell you is I have been flipped like that before during a High School hockey game and the sudden pressure on one leg caused my knee to dislocate so it’s not that crazy to think this guy would’ve actually tweaked something. Especially when you watch the replay and see the knee he was grabbing buckle violently as he tumbles.
Now I can understand NHL fans getting riled up about it because like I’ve said, Marchand does have a reputation and if that had been PK Subban we here in Boston would still be all over him. But what was disheartening is that even some members of the national media jumped on the “Marchand is diving” bandwagon and ran with it whether it was right or wrong, they didn’t care. This was a guy they don’t like, playing on a team they don’t like, so they took the shot while they had the chance. Embarrassing and unprofessional to say the least, and if you are wondering why I’m not posting those articles it’s because I won’t give them hits and views they don’t deserve.
Either way Marchand ended up being fine and stayed in the game as the Bruins went on to win and take a 2-1 series lead, which should-be the real story from the night but who cares about sports when Marchand may have taken a dive. Regardless he didn’t seem to care all that much about it after the game and explained he felt some stinging in his knee after tweaking it while tumbling. He didn’t stop there though as he even took a shot at said fans and media when he answered a question about the alleged dive by simply replying, “That’s why they are on Twitter and I’m in the NHL.”