Brad Marchand suffers upper-body injury in Bruins’ Game 3 loss
"He's probably the toughest guy I know. I don't doubt he'll do anything he can to get back in as fast as possible."
The hits kept on coming for the Bruins on Friday night.
Not only did the Bruins drop Game 3 of their second-round bout with the Panthers, 6-2. They also lost their captain due to injury.
The Bruins announced before the start of the third period that Brad Marchand was unlikely to return to Game 3 due to an upper-body injury.
Marchand logged just 10:51 of ice time through two periods of play with zero shots on goal, five hits and one block and did not return at all over the final period of play.
“We’ll know more tomorrow,” Jim Montgomery said of Marchand’s status after Friday’s loss.
The 36-year-old winger was shaken up early in the game while trying to land a hit on Panthers pivot Sam Bennett.
Marchand spent some time on the frozen sheet after Bennett’s reverse hit before slowly making his way to the bench. He remained on the bench after the hit and didn’t spend any time down the tunnel, but Marchand didn’t make much of an impact for the remainder of the game.
“I mean, obviously he’s a heck of a player and an important part of that team,” Bennett said of Marchand’s injury. “So yeah, it’s playoff hockey and we’ll see.”
The Bruins did manage to generate two goals in the third period in order to cut into what was once a 4-0 Panthers lead, but any extended absence for Marchand would be a major loss for Boston.
Beyond his knack for shifting momentum during playoff action by way of a heavy check or a drawn penalty, Marchand has added 10 points (three goals, seven assists) over 10 games during this playoff run.
“I think, collectively, everybody does,” Jake DeBrusk said of how the Bruins need to step up after Marchand’s injury. “We’ve always had a next man up mentality and injuries happened throughout the playoffs, and he’s probably the toughest guy I know.
“I don’t doubt he’ll do anything he can to get back in as fast as possible. So in saying that, I think guys like myself need to be better.”
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