Brad Marchand injury: Bruins believe ‘it’s gonna be alright’ after star exits win over Sabres

Brad Marchand played just 9:19 of ice time in Thursday's 7-1 win over the Sabres.

The Bruins are still waiting for an official update on Brad Marchand's injury. John Tlumacki / Globe Staff

March 2, 2023

2 minutes to read

The Bruins’ depth at left wing was tested once again on Thursday night, as Brad Marchand exited Boston’s win over the Sabres due to a lower-body injury.

It’s the latest in a recent string of bad luck for Boston’s forward corps.

Earlier on Thursday, Boston ruled out both Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno for the foreseeable future, thinning out what was once an area of strength on the wing for this club.

Marchand, who logged just 9:19 of ice time in the B’s 7-1 victory, was not spotted on Boston’s bench in the closing minutes of the second period.

It’s unclear what directly led to Marchand’s ailment.

Early in the second, the 34-year-old forward was knocked into the boards by Buffalo blueliner Ilya Lyubushkin and was shaken up after gathering himself on the ice.

NESN believes this hit by Lyubushkin caused it. pic.twitter.com/Gmne4fIMqE
— Mr. Tenkrat (@PeterTenkrat) March 3, 2023

“It’s lower body. We don’t know. We think it’s gonna be alright,” Jim Montgomery noted postgame. “But we’re not positive yet.”

The Bruins are no stranger to overcoming injuries this season, with Marchand himself missing the first three weeks of the year while recovering from offseason hip surgery.

And while Boston was able to weather an early storm of injuries in October and November, time (and especially depth) isn’t exactly on their side at this point on the calendar.

If Marchand needs to spend some time on the shelf moving forward, Boston will be in desperate need of some additional help on the wing.

Don Sweeney dealt for Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi on Thursday in order to secure reinforcements for Boston.

And even though the former 30-goal scorer stands as a solid contingency plan for either Hall or Foligno further down the lineup, few players in the league can replicate Marchand’s unique blend of skill, special-teams acumen, and prickly disposition.

Bertuzzi is expected to play on Saturday afternoon against the Rangers, while Boston will likely look internally if Marchand is not given the green light for that matinee matchup against the Blueshirts.

Boston’s depth did perform some heavy lifting against Buffalo on Thursday.

With Hall and Foligno out of commission, the B’s called up Jakub Lauko from Providence to round out the bottom-six unit. The 22-year-old winger delivered with his first two-goal performance over 11:53 of ice time.

Jakub Lauko with his second career goal.

He's continued to impress whenever he's slotted into the lineup.

2-0 Bruins. pic.twitter.com/Ma7pR0x4Zq
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 3, 2023

“I mean, he’s been very good for us every game he’s been called up since the first game of the year,” Montgomery said of Lauko. “And I think it speaks to the season and the development by the coaches and everybody down below in Providence.

“Because they’re having a great year. I think they’re in first place, I haven’t looked since we went on the road. But they were in first before we left. And it’s just speaks to the depth throughout the organization.”