Brad Marchand largely was on his finest conduct within the first spherical of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. One sport into the second spherical, nevertheless, and it looks like the Boston Bruins agitator may be as much as his outdated tips.
Marchand appeared way more prepared to get somewhat nasty Thursday night time through the Bruins’ 3-2 time beyond regulation win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The All-Star winger might be seen chirping at occasions after the whistle, however his most notable interplay got here with CBJ winger Cam Atkinson in OT.
As the 2 gamers jockeyed for place on a neutral-zone faceoff, Marchand stepped on Atkinson’s stick blade. The blade broke, and Atkinson needed to go to the bench to retrieve a brand new twig. As he skated again to the faceoff circle, he and Marchand had some phrases and a few contact for good measure.
Atkinson addressed the slight skirmish after the sport.
It’s not an enormous deal, however the Bruins most likely don’t thoughts the Blue Jackets worrying about something aside from making an attempt to win the collection. Of course, Marchand has to be sure you not step over the road, particularly in a scenario like this one the place a penalty in time beyond regulation might have been disastrous.
Regardless, Game 1 had a much more bodily really feel than something we noticed within the Bruins’ first-round collection vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs. Neither Boston nor Columbus shies away from that model of hockey, which suggests we may be in for a nasty collection between two powerful groups. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday night time in Boston at eight p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photograph through Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images