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Bruins’ Brad Marchand keeps roasting Paul Bissonnette after 2-goal game
“I knew I had something to rub in.”
Brad Marchand has crafted a pretty impressive career out of getting under opposing players’ skin and thriving off of trash talk.
Even at 36 years old, the Bruins captain hasn’t lost his fastball when it comes to trading chirps and dishing out punishment beyond a bar-down wrister or check into the glass.
Because less than a week after roasting former NHLer and current TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette for getting involved in a seven-person restaurant brawl, Marchand twisted the knife yet again on Wednesday.
Marchand and Bissonnette reacquainted themselves ahead of Boston’s game against the Blackhawks, with Bissonnette taping a skit where he formally suspended the Bruins’ captain from winning the network’s “Mr. TNT” award.
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Marchand responded in short order during his pregame interview with the TNT crew.
“I absolutely am going to have to appeal that,” Marchand said. “I do have to defend myself here. I was under the impression I was being attacked. As soon as I heard you going after the hairline, there’s no way that Biz is about to throw a compliment.
“He’s never done that on TV. Wouldn’t expect it to be the first time. So, I was ready to start firing back immediately and wires crossed. That sometimes happens. I am going to say it was accidental.”
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The suspension was a direct result of Marchand’s joke that went viral on Black Friday.
/twitt
“Did one of those offseason surgeries include a Turkish hair transplant? You’re looking a little less thin up top,” Bissonnette asked Marchand during last week’s segment. “It looks great.”
“Ah, no,” Marchand replied. “I’m just trying to look like those guys who beat the wheels off you the other night.”
Bissonnette found himself in the middle of a brawl with six men at a restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz. on Nov. 24 — with Bissonnette stating in a social-media video that he intervened after he saw the men being belligerent to the staff.
All six men involved in the fight with Bissonnette were arrested for assault and disorderly conduct, while the Scottsdale Police Department confirmed that Bissonnette was treated at a hospital for “non-life-threatening injuries”.
During Wednesday’s pregame interview with Marchand, Bissonnette jokingly wore a neck brace and head bandages as he continued to chirp back at Marchand’s initial joke.
“What’s up, you little angry elf,” Bissonnette asked Marchand. “Biz here again with another softball question for you. …“When are you going to stop working on your comedy routine and work on this team’s power play?”
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After a laugh, Marchand brushed aside Bissonnette’s question about Boston’s extended woes on the power play and instead shredded the former NHL scrapper.
“Listen, Biz, these guys are out here trying to do a job, you’re bringing them down,” Marchand said. “It’s all you do is horsing around. I’m just trying to let them do what they’re supposed to do: talk hockey. And you’re creating havoc out there. It’s time to settle down, move aside. I think I’m moving in.”
Sure enough, Marchand made Bissonnette eat his words during Wednesday’s matchup against the Blackhawks — with the captain scoring a pair of goals just 2:05 apart in the second period en route to a 4-2 win in Chicago.
The Bruins’ social media team even had a laugh at Bissonnette’s expense following Boston’s third win in a row, including a photo of him with his neck brace on their post-win graphic.
“Please stop. I have a family,” Bissonnette replied on X.
As expected, Marchand continued to go after Bissonnette during his post-game interview on the TNT broadcast.
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“I wish you could have seen Biz’s face while you were scoring goals,” TNT host Liam McHugh told Marchand.
“Yeah, he doesn’t know that feels like, so I’m sure it’s exciting to watch,” Marchand said of Bissonnette, who scored seven goals over 202 career NHL games.
“I was excited when those two went in,” Marchand added. “I knew I had something to rub in.”
Bissonnette tried to deflect by pointing to Marchand’s teammate, David Pastrnak, who set up both of his second-period tallies.
“Brad, what’s it like playing with a guy like David Pastrnak where he literally does everything and you do nothing and just get backdoor tap-ins,” Bissonnette asked.
“It feels great. It’s whatever it takes,” Marchand said. “I know you haven’t had that opportunity, but it feels good. I don’t mind riding coattails, just like you rode (Ryan) Whit(ney)’s coattails all the way to ‘Spittin’ Chiclets.’”
It was an entertaining back-and-forth that Marchand has become known for over the years, which could make him a great hockey analyst in due time when he does decide to hang up his skates.
While Marchand admitted during the interview that he has toned down some of his chirping since being named Bruins captain in 2023, he does still relish any opportunity to trash talk.
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“It’s a fun part of the game that I miss nowadays,” Marchand said. “It doesn’t happen enough. Back when we played against each other it was all the time. It was every shift. And that’s part of the game that was always a lot of fun to do, one I didn’t want to give up. But it’s great that some of the other stuff came along, too.”
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