Brad Marchand reached a huge milestone last week, skating in his 1,000th NHL game.
On Monday, he played his 1,003rd game, his first in Boston since reaching the magical four-digit milestone.
Marchand has played all of those games wearing a Bruins jersey, and on Monday, he was well-deservedly honored by fans and teammates ahead of the game vs. the Dallas Stars.
Eight players have played 1,000 games for the Bruins, and they all sent their messages of support to Marchand in a video message on the jumbotron.
”I can’t be more proud of you,” Zdeno Chara, who played 1,023 games with the Bruins, said.
Marchand ranks fifth in Bruins history in goals, eighth in assists, and fifth in points.
He’s always been a beloved player in Boston but also a player that other teams hate playing against. Marchand has often been labeled as the biggest rat in the NHL, and that’s why some of the messages coming in from former teammates and competitors were so special.
The video was shown during the first break in play. It included messages from Torey Krug, Kevan Miller, Gregory Campbell, Tuukka Rask, Tyler Seguin, Mark Recchi, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin St. Louis, and Sidney Crosby.
”Marchy, congratulations on 1000 games, whether it’s 3-on-3 in the summer. We’re playing together internationally. It’s way more fun to be your linemate than to play against you, I can tell you that. I see how hard you work and how much you put into it,” Crosby said.
But the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar didn’t let the opportunity slip to take a hilarious dig at Marchand about his looks and his nose.
”I can see year after year you continue to put your nose to the grindstone. You don’t let up, even at your age you consistently produce. You’ve shown you have a real nose for the net … after all these years, you continue to get it done. Hope you have a great night celebrating with your friends and family, you deserve it. And congratulations on 1000 games,” he said.
