Marchand: Upper-body injury
The bruins lost their heart and soul friday night when brad Marchand was forced to exit the Game 3 loss to the Panthers early because of an upperbody injury.
Coach Jim Montgomery had no details other than that he expects an update on Saturday.
It wasn’t clear when the boston captain was hurt, but he took an awkward fall and was slow to get up and to the bench after a first-period collision with florida’s sam bennett.
Marchand labored on the bench and winced as he took deep breaths while consulting with a member of the club’s medical staff. He took his normal workload — fiveon-five, shorthanded, and power-play duty for the first two periods — though he was limited to 10:51 of ice time, well below his normal output.
Marchand, the bruins’ leading scorer in the playoffs with 10 points, did not come out for the third when boston scored its only goals of the 6-2 loss that gave the Panthers a 2-1 series lead.
“obviously we’ve always had a next-man up mentality and injuries happen throughout the playoffs and he’s probably the toughest guy I know, so I don’t doubt he’ll do anything he can to get back in as soon as possible,” said Jake Debrusk, who had a goal and an assist.
brandon Carlo said it was a collective effort in the third to fill the void left by Marchand’s absence.
“It’s definitely a huge [loss], but I will commend Pasta, big Rig [Pat Maroon], and Charlie [McAvoy] — a lot of guys for stepping up, being more vocal in that third period,” said the defenseman. “I think we did a good job of generating some stuff and yeah, that’s a key that they brought to the game for us for sure.”
There won’t be a lot of time for Marchand to recuperate as the bruins are set to skate Saturday and Game 4 is Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
bruins noTebook Maroon was pragmatic
Maroon weighed in on the David Pastrnak-Matthew Tkachuk fisticuffs in Game 2 of the second-round series against the Panthers, knowing full well that many fans were expecting him to settle the score in
nd
Game 3 friday night.
“It’s two skill guys fighting,” Maroon said following the bruins’ morning skate at TD Garden friday. “I mean, Tkachuk’s not going to fight me. So if I go out there and take a dumb penalty and they get a power play, then my job’s not accomplished, so can’t look at it like that.
“Just got to take numbers. obviously, I didn’t like how he hit [Pastrnak] on the ground twice. I think that’s dirty.”
like many of his teammates, Maroon appreciated Pastrnak’s willingness to accept Tkachuk’s challenge in the late stages of Game 2.
“I like the idea of him fighting,” said Maroon. “I think Pasta did a good job. That’s what leaders do, and he stood up for the team. He took charge.
“You’ve got to love that kind of stuff out of your leader, and he’s fighting another skilled player, but obviously it’s a game within the game. I don’t like the aftermath of it, so we know that part, right? So I mean, listen, I’ll probably never play against Tkachuk anyway, so let’s be realistic here.
“I think most importantly, all the other stuff — whatever, you know, the scrums, them yelling in our face after they score — it’s over. It’s done with.”
Peeke returns
Andrew Peeke returned to the bruins blue line for the first time since suffering an undisclosed injury in Game 2 against the Maple leafs. He had two hits and blocked two shots in 16:28 of ice time.
After being acquired from the blue Jackets at the trade deadline, Peeke quickly meshed with the bruins and became a lineup mainstay. A sturdy, strong defenseman, Peeke jumped into a second-round series against the team the Parkland, fla., native grew up rooting for.
“It’s pretty cool,” Peeke said following the morning skate. “If you were going to tell a young me that I’d be playing against this team, I’d have told you, ‘No.’ but being in this spot, obviously, playing for the bruins, and having that honor is pretty special. [Playing] against your hometown team makes it even better.”
Rehab and conditioning were a grind, but Peeke, a stout penalty killer, was thrilled to be in the lineup on the third pairing with Derek Forbort.
“Physically, you’re doing your thing each day and getting ready to be back in this position you are now,” said Peeke, who is playing in his first postseason.
Lohrei Qb on PP
with kevin shattenkirk out of the lineup, rookie Mason Lohrei has been quarterbacking the second power-play unit. “I’m really confident [there]. I’ve grown up and all the way up I’ve been a power-play guy, so I feel really comfortable stepping in there and just trying to distribute the puck, spread it around and get pucks to the net when I see a lane,” he said . . . Parker Wotherspoon and Matt Grzelcyk were also healthy scratches on the blue line . . . Jakub Lauko took Jesper boqvist’s spot in the lineup. lauko last played in Game 2 of the Toronto series . . . Danton Heinen is still day to day . . . Rookie Matt Poitras skated with boqvist and Grzelcyk before the regular morning skate. Poitras (shoulder surgery) is not an option for the postseason . . . The banner captain for Game 3 was 2011 Stanley Cup champion Andrew Ference and, honestly, he still looks like he could jump in and play 18-20 minutes . . . Song of the night: “The Pretender,” by the foo fighters.