The Boston Bruins need two straight wins to keep their season alive. But they may get their biggest and meanest asset back for Game 6.
Brad Marchand hasn’t played since the first period of Game 3 after he suffered a hit to the head in a controversial incident with Panthers forward Sam Bennett.
Bennett denied that he punched Marchand deliberately, but when TNT released an alternate angle of the incident, it sure looked like Bennett sucker-punched Marchand in the side of the head.
And it’s been keeping the Bruins captain sidelined since.
The punch from Bennett and the fact that he wasn’t suspended for it has been a hot topic in the hockey world since it happened.
But what Brad Marchand feels about the incident has been unknown, since he hasn’t been available to media.
But on Thursday, he spoke to media ahead of Game 6, a game Marchand hopes to take part in, and what he had to say surprised everyone.
”The more guys you take out, the more advantage your team has,” Marchand said. ”People don’t say that but that’s just a fact of the game. So every time you step on the ice, someone’s trying to hurt someone. That’s just how it goes in the playoffs.”
Marchand was also asked if he thought it was a cheap shot, but once again, his answer was excellent.
”I think he got away with one but, I mean, that’s part of the game and definitely part of playoff hockey,” Marchand added. ”It sucks to be on the other side of it, but that stuff happens. I’m not going to sit here and complain about it. … Part of playoffs is trying to hurt every player on the other team.”
Marchand isn’t regularly an NHL fan’s favorite player; he’s more known for being a rat than anything. But this time, he was praised for his quotes, and everyone said the exact same thing about him.
”Marchy’s a lot of things, but he keeps it real in interviews,” one social media user said on.
”For all of Marchand’s f—kery I dislike on the ice, I do always appreciate how he always keeps it real off the ice,” another said.
”He’s absolutely correct here and even said he’s been on the other side of such hits too, so there’s a ton of self-awareness there,” a third added.
