Goaded, but Marchand is not biting
SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand has run afoul of the men in stripes in multiple playoffs past, but he has taken zero penalties through three games against the Panthers.
Given some of the post-whistle stuff happening, that may seem like a bit of a surprise. But with Patrice Bergeron missing and David Krejci out of action, Marchand has tried to remember that he has an “A” on his sweater and is a respected voice in the room.
“When everything’s on the line, and one penalty or one bad play after the whistle can cost a game or a series, it just means more,” Marchand said Saturday at the team hotel. “You’ve got to skate away from that stuff. It’s different in the regular season, where you’re not really as worried about it and it’s good to get a shot back every now and then at a guy.
“We’re best as a group when we just play. We haven’t got caught up in that stuff all year. If we can kind of stick to that now, it’s going to benefit our group. We’re best when we play between the whistles.”
No one needs a long memory to recall the 34-year-old Marchand’s past playoff incidents. He said he has made an effort to change. It seems to be helping his game. He has two goals and one assist this series, with a team-high 12 shots on goal. And again: zero penalties.
“It is a sign of his leadership,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “I think he’s taken it upon himself, without Patrice being here, to be our mature leader, the guy that is leading us, and he’s doing a great job. I think he’s dragging people into the fight between whistles. That’s what we’ve asked.
“We’ve asked to be really hard between the whistles, and we don’t want stuff after the whistles. He’s led that way, and shown great leadership in my opinion.”
Hey, that “A” could become a “C” someday. Or maybe he won’t get his chance.
“When they retire, I’m retiring,” Marchand joked of Bergeron and Krejci. “I can’t play without those guys. I honestly try not to think about that. I really do. It’s inevitable that date’s going to come. It could just as well happen that when that day comes, it might be ‘Get rid of the old guys,’ and they trade me away too.
“We’ve always done such a good job of living day to day, in the moment. It’s in life in general, but in this sport for us, our careers are so short and our opportunities are so small.
“You don’t want to start looking ahead, you’ll just pass by the great opportunities and the moments we have now.”
A choice in net?
Netminder Linus Ullmark’s undisclosed injury leaves the Bruins with a choice. They have two days off between Games 4 and 5, the latter scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday. Should they rest Ullmark and turn to Jeremy Swayman?
As good as Ullmark’s season has been, Montgomery didn’t hand-wave away the notion.
“There are thoughts of going with Jeremy,” the coach said. “One, Jeremy’s excellent. And two, there’s [two] days between the next ones.”
The Bruins had ice time scheduled at the Panthers’ practice rink in Coral Springs. Montgomery said “pretty much everybody” skated at the optional practice, including the third and fourth lines and six of the eight defensemen on the roster.
Those known not to be skating — not a comprehensive list, this — included Ullmark, forwards Marchand and Krejci, and defenseman Dmitry Orlov. While Bergeron is at home working with specialists, the Bruins brought two strength and conditioning coaches and three athletic trainers on the trip. They split time between the rink and hotel Saturday.
“Some guys have bumps and bruises,” Montgomery said, “and they’re just better off getting treatment here at the hotel where we have better facilities to do that.”
Montgomery liked what defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who logged 12:39 in his series debut, brought to the mix. It sounds like he could get the call again in Game 4, which could keep Connor Clifton
on the sideline.
“Grizzy’s a real smart player,” Montgomery said. “He knew it was his first game. He wanted to get in. I think he kept his shifts short. I think you can only expect him to do more and more. He made some really great transitional passes for us and killed a lot of plays by the red line and blue line because of his gifted skating ability, and how quickly he reads the rush.”
Panthers’ Ekblad improving
The Panthers held an optional practice. Top defenseman Aaron Ekblad, dealing with an upper-body injury, did not appear to be limited. Ekblad, who logs a 25-minute workload, skated just 13:29 in Game 3, and was one of Charlie McAvoy’s unfortunate victims.
The Panthers blue liner ran into McAvoy on the forecheck and immediately left for the dressing room. He returned and tried to play through his issue, coach
Paul Maurice said, but could not.
Maurice did not confirm Ekblad’s availability for Game 4.
“He came back in feeling much better today,” Maurice said, “and we’ll need another day like that.”
Josh Mahura also left the game early, and did not skate Saturday. Florida recalled defenseman Lucas Carlsson from AHL Charlotte as insurance.
Both Panthers goalies, Alex Lyon and
Sergei Bobrovsky, participated in the onice workout. Maurice, however, wasn’t giving away the identity of his starter. Maurice played both Lyon and Bobrovsky in Game 3.
“We’d like to play one tomorrow,” he said.