Marchand a contender
Big weekend for B’s revives MVP talk
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Brad Marchand has some knocks against him when it comes to the Hart Trophy conversation. One is legitimate: He has missed 14 games because of an injury and a suspension. The other one is not so legitimate: There are some voters who can’t bring themselves to support a player who often has found himself on the wrong side of the hockey law.
He probably won’t win the trophy given to the NHL’s most valuable player, but Marchand’s Hart candidacy is much like his playing style. It stubbornly refuses to go away.
Marchand’s name floated to the surface again during the weekend when he had a hand in all five Bruins goals in wins at Dallas and Minnesota, topping it off with his league-leading fifth overtime game-winner in a 2-1 victory against the Wild. He’s second in the league in points per game (1.33) and tied for third in game-winning goals.
And he’s been at his best when the Bruins have needed him most. Marchand has played in 17 of the 18 games in which the B’s have been without their top all-around player, Patrice Bergeron. Marchand has 11 goals and 15 assists in those 17 games.
Asked to wear the hat of a voter (the Professional Hockey Writers Association chooses the Hart winner) and give an objective opinion about Marchand, coach Bruce Cassidy took a wide view.
“He’s definitely in the top seven or eight guys,” Cassidy said. “It comes around, first and foremost to me, to the definition. People are saying, ‘Can Connor McDavid win it because his team’s not having a successful season?’ That’s where your first debate always comes to me. And to me, he’s probably the best hockey player in the league, so he’s always in the conversation. Maybe not the most accomplished like (Sidney) Crosby, but the most dangerous.
“Then you have (Nathan) MacKinnon, if Colorado makes it. There are always good choices. (Nikita) Kucherov’s been steady all year, so he’s probably lost a bit of momentum because of being so steady all year. There are a lot of good candidates. To me, (Marchand) is in that group. How it all plays out, I don’t know.”
Whatever happens, Marchand has been the MVP of a Bruins team still in the running for the best record in the NHL. There’s something to be said for that.
And lately, he’s shown a quality that’s rarely been linked to Marchand: restraint. He’s taken some big, questionable hits the past couple of games. He’s barked at officials when no penalty has been called, but that’s better than the alternative. Marchand has stayed away from retaliating with cheap shots.
“(Mathew) Dumba took a run at him (in Minnesota). (Jamie) Benn did in Dallas. The one in Dallas was egregious because there was no call, and it was from behind. Then look what he did,” said Cassidy, referring to Marchand’s three-point third period. “(Sunday) the same thing. He kept playing. He didn’t go back at Dumba. Now it’s an openice hit and those things happen, but it seemed (Dumba) was tracking (him), so I think he’s just gone about his business and played.
“At times he’s gotten frustrated with officials’ calls, but nothing out of the ordinary or what most players would do if they were upset. He certainly hasn’t been penalized for it or even warned. So I think he’s doing a good job.”
Things can change in a flash with Marchand, but it appears to Cassidy the winger’s multiple suspensions have sunk in, as has the realization of just how valuable he is to the Bruins.
“I think it’s a part of maturity,” Cassidy said. “I think he recognizes if there is a next one, it would really hurt this hockey club that’s going well. I think he understands that. He’s a big part of that, obviously. That might be in the back of his mind. Only he can answer that, but I think after time, he realizes he has to temper that. He’s had a lot of different people who have had that conversation with him. At some point, hopefully it hits home, and it seems to have lately.”
Bruins notes
With his team playing every other night, Cassidy gave his charges yesterday off. Back home in Boston, Zdeno Chara (upper body), Charlie McAvoy (knee) and Jake DeBrusk (upper body) have begun skating, but Rick Nash (upper body), out for a week now, has not.
“He’s the one I would say is the farthest out,” Cassidy said. The coach did not have a timetable on Nash . . . .
David Backes (leg laceration) is with the team doing off-ice workouts. He’s waiting for the OK to start skating, which could happen today. He won’t pay against the Jets.