The Boston Bruins’ captain, Brad Marchand, will play in his 1,000th NHL game on Tuesday night when they play the Tampa Bay Lightning. Marchand, a 15-year veteran, is the team’s second-leading scorer with 25 goals (tying David Pastrnak for the lead in both categories) and 48 points, having scored six goals in his last eight games.
When he initially joined the Bruins in 2009–10, Marchand remarked, “It would be tough to believe” that he had reached 1,000 career games. “You don’t really think that far ahead when you’re a young player. You are just concerned with attempting to get here. Playing makes you realize how difficult it is to remain here. It’s quite unique. Though it obviously doesn’t happen frequently, I truly make an effort to ignore it.”
Despite Boston’s three-point advantage over the opposition in the Eastern Conference, coach Jim Montgomery is at a loss for answers after his team’s poor performance in two of the previous three games.
The Bruins opened a seven-game homestand with shutout victories over NHL leaders Vancouver (4-0) but losses to Calgary and Washington (7-1) overall.
“I would have provided the players with the answers if I had any. However, we won’t accept it because it’s unacceptable, Montgomery declared. “Things or we ourselves will change. That is the crux of the matter.”
Boston lost to Washington 4-0 on Saturday, their first shutout of the year. Charlie Coyle, the star center, lost his 10-game streak of scoring points, which was a career high.
After undergoing shoulder surgery, rookie forward Matt Poitras was sidelined. The Bruins turned to Anthony Richard, who leads Providence of the American Hockey League with 19 goals, as a backup. In his 10:38 of ice time during his Bruins debut on Saturday, he managed just one shot on goal.
“I thought (Richard) was one of the players that had jump, had tenacity on pucks,” said Montgomery.
The Lightning, who ended a two-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory in Columbus on Saturday, now occupy the third and final postseason place in the Atlantic Division. Their eighth victory in a 12-game stretch, and their first since the All-Star break.
Coach Jon Cooper of Tampa Bay stated, “You can pick apart any game you want, but the bottom line is we needed these points.” “We got them and let’s move on.”
Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL with 89 points this season, and Brandon Hagel extended his point run to six games with a goal and two assists.
Haydn Fleury’s return to the Tampa Bay defense is a positive development. Fleury missed the previous 14 games due to a hand injury. In 22:07 of ice time, he had three blocks and a plus-1 rating.
After the All-Star break, Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak, two other blueliners, also made their way back into the lineup. However, Sergachev underwent successful surgery to repair the breaks to his tibia and fibula he sustained in his first game back last Wednesday against the New York Rangers.
“It’s going to get awkward for you when you start using that as a justification. And nobody in our group has ever done it,” Cooper remarked. “Perhaps there is a sympathy party that lasts for a few hours. However, it hasn’t been in our DNA
It’s getting late in the season early for Tampa Bay, given their current standing. “I think the playoffs kind of start now for us,” Hagel stated. The Bruins and Lightning have split their two meetings this season; on January 6, Tampa Bay defeated visiting Boston 5-4 in overtime, with Hagel scoring the game-winning goal.
