Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand has undoubtedly struggled at the beginning of the year. The captain had offseason surgeries and it’s clear that he’s not 100%. As veterans do, they keep grinding and know things will eventually work out. Some signs are slowly appearing that it might be the case with Marchand.
Thursday night at the TD Garden, Marchand scored his second game-winning overtime goal in 12 days to lead the Black and Gold to a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. On Oct. 26, he scored the game-winner in overtime against the Toronto Maple Leafs, taking advantage of an Auston Matthews turnover in the defensive end.
After sputtering their way to a start that saw the Bruins end the month of October in last place in the Atlantic Division, they have won three of their last four games. Jim Montgomery has been quick to make lineup changes and make mid-game adjustments in switching his lines around. Following the win over Calgary, Marchand feels comfortable with new forward Elias Lindholm and made it known after the game.
Brad Marchand sends Jim Montgomery a clear message
Marchand was placed on the second line with Lindholm and Justin Brazeau to begin the game and then in the 3-on-3 overtime, he was out there with the prize free agent signing over the summer on an offensive zone face-off. After losing the draw, Lindholm won a battle for the puck behind the net and sent it to Marchand alone in the slot. After having his first shot stopped by Dustin Wolf, Marchand swept the rebound home for the win.
THE OT KING 👑 pic.twitter.com/eCZUC60Sky
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 8, 2024
“There’s always room for improvement,” Marchand said. “The more practice time you get and reps you get together, the more we’ll build it. But, again, the way Monty coaches, he changes the lines a lot, so he can change it at any point. But, you’re always trying to find chemistry as quick as you can with your linemates, for sure.”
Clearly, Marchand doesn’t want to be split up from Lindholm, yet. He’s not wrong with the lines changing on a rotating basis and sometimes it does feel a little excessive. Recently the Bruins have been better 5-on-5 and need to continue moving forward. Right now, not listening to his captain is not the move for Boston’s third-year coach to make. If it’s beginning to jell and not broken, don’t fix it.