Boston Bruins: Brad Marchand Has Five Point Game

Boston Bruins Brad Marchand had a rare five point game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Boston’s “Little Ball of Hate” helped lead the team to a 6-3 victory at the TD Garden.

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Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand has evolved over the years. He went from a fourth line grinder to a pest extraordinaire to the B’s top scorer in the course of his NHL career. The B’s have needed certain players to step up of late, and Marchand has certainly answered the bell.

Marchand has been one of the hottest players on the team as of late. In the last six games, the 28-year old Marchand has put in twelve points (seven goals) in the last six games. He now leads all Bruins with 43 points this season.

Marchand has matured off the ice as well. The old Marchand would have offered a lot of swagger in the post-game media blitz. The current incarnation of Marchand just chalked it up to a good bout of puck luck.

“I think it’s just, that’s how hockey goes sometimes. [Sometimes] pucks bounce your way and other times they don’t, you know? It is nice when things are going your way and you feel a little more confident,” said Marchand to the media, courtesy of CSNNE.com. “You’re able to do things that you’re a little nervous to try at different times. But again, I think our team is playing really good hockey right now and everyone is just playing good [hockey].

“We need the older guys to lead the way. So, the guys did a great job stepping up and again, everyone played well. Tuukks [Tuukka Rask] played good – made some big saves at the right time – penalty kill stepped up when we really needed them too and power play, again, has been hot lately. So we have to keep all that going.”\

Marchand chose a milestone moment to have a big game. Today was the Bruins winger’s 500th career NHL game.

Marchand’s really been coming alive for the Black and Gold. The B’s are hanging on to their playoff position and have needed every player to step up huge. Marchand, and defenceman Torey Krug have been hot as of late, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for Boston.

Marchand’s short-handed goal (the 21st of his career) seemed to take the life out of the Flyers just halfway through the first period. It energized the Bruins and the crowd at the TD Garden. He’s the kind of player who can make the big play and the right moment and cause the momentum of a game to completely shift.

He’s come a long way from the guy that liked to rabbit punch Sedins for exercise.

“I think right now, he’s feeling it, and that’s the word I use when I talk about Brad [Marchand], said Bruins head coach Claude Julien after the game. “When he’s feeling it, he makes a lot of good things happen and it hasn’t always been like that this year. But now he’s starting to heat up, and that’s a good sign. That’s one of the key traits that he has, is anticipation and knowing when to make those moves that he’s been making in less high-risk situations. It’s nice to see him coming around that way.”