Marchand Does It Again! Scores Third Straight Game-Winner As Bs Nip Flyers
The dude has been unstoppable lately. For the third straight game, Brad Marchand tallied a late game-winning goal for the Bruins, allowing them to keep pace with an equally hot Tampa Bay squad in the Atlantic. Last night, Marchand made Shayne Gostisbehere look like a ghost on D when he snuck behind the Flyer to pot the difference-maker with just 22 seconds left in the third period as the Bs knocked off Philly, 3-2.
Marchand has nine points (5-4–9) in four games this month and on Tuesday night, he became the Bruins all-time leader in regular season OT goals with his 11th. If the irascible LW hadn’t missed 13 games this year, there’s a good chance his name would be in the Hart talk. His 1.29 points per game is 4th in the NHL and trails only MacKinnon, Kucherov, and Malkin. That pace over 65 games would have him 3rd in NHL points behind just Kucherov and Malkin.
He’s straight up carrying this team right now, playing like a ballsy boss. In a game that Philly played more than well enough to win, they gave Marchand an opening at the worst time and he took advantage of it. Game. Set. Match. Whether you love him or hate him, there’s no denying he’s one of the most dynamic players in the league right now.
Brian Gionta got his first as a Bruin on a breakaway.
Given the injury to Patrice Bergeron and the David Backes suspension, signing Gionta is looking like a pretty shrewd move right about now. It shouldn’t be a shock when he scores a big playoff goal this spring.
Riley Nash notched his 13th of the year on a goal-mouth scramble in the first and his next goal will double his total from last season. I haven’t voted for the 7th Player Award since they stopped giving away a free car (I mean, that was the whole goddamn point of mailing in a shitload of post cards). But if I still did, Nash would be the name on the majority of my post cards.
While the Bs were outshot and got dribbled at the dot, their team defense was much more cohesive than it was Tuesday vs. Detroit. Tuukka Rask stopping 31 of 33 shots helps immensely and the Finn had some big late saves. It will only get better when Bergeron and Backes make their way back into the line-up.
The win put even more cushion between the #2 and #3 seeds in the Atlantic. The Bruins now lead the Leafs by seven points and have three games in hand on them with about a month left in the season. It’s safe to say the Bs will play either Toronto in the first round (with home ice) or the second wild card team should they catch the Lightning—a reasonable possibility given that they still face them three more times. (Strangely, the Bs don’t play Florida for the first time until Game 69 and face the red-hot cats four times in their last 14 games.)
The Bs host the first of a pair of home-and-home matinees against the artists formerly known as the Chicago Blackhawks this weekend. Considering we’re just waiting for Chief M.E. to pronounce the once-great squad, anything less than three points for the Bruins over the weekend will be a disappointment.
If you haven’t had a chance, check out the NHLPA players poll. It’s pretty interesting and worth checking out.