Bruins’ weekly 3 stars: The Brad Marchand show continues
COMMENTARY
Returning from the All-Star break Tuesday night in Tampa, the Bruins were able to settle down after falling behind 1-0 to the Lightning en route to a 4-3 victory, their third win in a row.
Twenty-four hours later the Bruins jetted to the nation’s capital for a contest against the Capitals. Another lackluster performance in D.C. resulted in their eighth straight loss to Braden Holtby and the Capitals.
Patrice Bergeron left Wednesday’s loss after blocking a Matt Niskanen one-timer in the third period. Bergeron struggled on his way to the bench and hobbled into the locker room for further evaluation. He eventually — and surprisingly — returned for two shifts, but could not continue after that.
The Bruins released an update on Bergeron Friday morning. The veteran missed Friday’s practice and is considered day-to-day.
Let’s take a look at the Bruins’ three stars for this week:
Brad Marchand
Coming off his first All-Star game experience, Marchand continued his hot run Wednesday night. His team leading 22nd and 23rd goals of the season helped the Bruins erase what was a 2-0 first-period deficit to the Capitals. Marchand has six goals in his last five games including multiple goals in three of his last four games.
Marchand also dodged another bullet when the league decided to not discipline him for his trip Tuesday on Anton Stralman. Just last week Marchand was fined $10,000 — the league maximum allowed by the CBA — for his dangerous trip on Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall.
Colin Miller
Miller’s tenure as a Bruin has been a rollercoaster ride. But it seems that head coach Claude Julien has a new found confidence in Miller, and it’s being rewarded.
Miller picked up a pair of assists in Tuesday’s win including a beauty of a pass to set up Zdeno Chara’s important go-ahead tally in the third period. He also saved the Bruins as a trickling puck was inches away from clearing the goal line for a Lightning goal, but Miller’s quick stick prevented the potential first-period goal, a play that loomed large.
Miller is averaging 16:26 of time on ice per game, has three goals, five assists and is a plus-8 on the season.
David Krejci
Things are starting to turn around for Krejci, who has battled consistency issues throughout the year. He now has 34 points, good enough for third on the team. The Bruins’ assistant captain picked up goals in the first two games this week and even added an assist in Tuesday’s victory.
As they continue to battle for playoff position in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins will need all the help they can get, and Krejci is giving them just that at the moment. If Bergeron is out for any extended amount of time, the Bruins will rely upon Krejci even more.
