Brightest of stars
Marchand taking his game to another level
Perhaps we should have seen this coming with Brad Marchand.
The 28-year-old was among the brightest of stars at the World Cup of Hockey last fall, scoring five times in six games, including the tournamentclincher for Team Canada in the final against Europe.
Only Sidney Crosby finished with more points.
Afterward head coach Mike Babcock said Marchand was still a “pest” at heart, but added: “He keeps playing good, and if they keep the Olympics alive (in 2018), he’ll have a chance there.”
Marchand hasn’t just kept “playing good” but taken his game to a whole different level for the Boston Bruins, morphing into one of the league’s biggest stars (and an increasing lock for the 2018 Olympic team should NHL players attend).
Marchand entered Monday’s action tied for fourth in the Art Ross trophy race, behind only Connor McDavid, Patrick Kane and Crosby. He’s already blown past career-highs in assists and points and has an outside shot of eclipsing last year’s careerbest 37 goals.
The Halifax product, who scored in four straight games last week, is on pace for 85 points – which would be a 24point improvement over last season.
Marchand and linemate Patrice Bergeron rank 1-2 among
NHL forwards in puck possession this season, the only two hovering above 60 per cent. Underlying numbers point to the scrappy 181-pound puck hound as the primary driver of that action.
Finally garnering first-unit power-play opportunities this season, Marchand has already doubled his previous careerhigh for power-play points and remains one of the league’s most effective penalty killers. His three shorthanded goals and five shorthanded points are tied for second overall heading into a Monday divisional clash with Ottawa.
He won’t win it, but Marchand has earned at least consideration for the Hart trophy, an improbable reality for a player picked 71st overall at the 2006 draft.
Montreal’s new top pair Shortly after replacing Michel Therrien as head coach last month, Claude Julien broke up the Habs top pair of Shea Weber and Alexei Emelin and quickly installed 38-year-old Andrei Markov with Weber. Montreal, perhaps not surprisingly, has gotten a bump offensively with Markov in the role and while also dropping off a touch defensively.
Here’s a look at how Weber has fared, in terms of five-onfive puck possession, with each of his three defensive partners this season:
■ Weber/Emelin (851 minutes): 50.8 per cent
■ Weber/Nathan Beaulieu (166 minutes): 48.1 per cent
■ Weber/Markov (103 minutes): 52.5 per cent