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Bruins’ Brad Marchand ‘week to week’ with an upper-body injury
"You never want to see a guy's season get cut at all, or just situations where they're going to miss some games."
The injury bug continues to sting the Bruins.
Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco confirmed on Tuesday morning that captain Brad Marchand is “week to week” after suffering an upper-body injury on Saturday in Boston’s road win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Marchand, who missed Sunday’s loss to the Wild, has no set timeline for his return as Boston has just 20 games left on its regular season schedule.
“Obviously a hard guy to replace,” Sacco said Tuesday. “We’re going to miss him, but it creates opportunities for other guys now to step up — some of our younger players, maybe like a [Georgii] Merkulov or [Matt] Poitras. It gives them more of an opportunity, but yeah, week to week with an upper-body [injury].”
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Marchand was injured less than six minutes into the first period of Saturday’s game in Pittsburgh, when Penguins defenseman P.O. Joseph landed a hit from behind against Marchand.
Marchand, 36, went face-first into the boards and remained on the ice for several minutes before eventually needing the assistance of David Pastrnak and a trainer to get off the ice.
“It’s awful on either side of the puck, whether it’s their guys, our guys, we’re all out there competing hard. You never want to see anybody get hurt, but it is part of the game,” Brandon Carlo said Tuesday of Marchand’s injury. “I know I’ve been in that position, and I know the way that the guys feel for me, you have that same sort of empathy for everybody else.”
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“So you never want to see a guy’s season get cut at all, or just situations where they’re going to miss some games. He’s obviously a big component of our group. So it stings definitely when you see that it’s number 63 on the ice.”
Marchand’s injury stands as the latest setback for a banged-up Bruins roster that is already slipping out of the playoff race.
The Bruins are without their top two defensemen for potentially the rest of the season, as Hampus Lindholm is unlikely to return this year after suffering a fractured patella on Nov. 12.
Charlie McAvoy — who spent several days at Mass. General Hospital last month to treat both an infection in his shoulder and a “significant” AC joint injury — also doesn’t have a timeline for a return.
Trent Frederic was tabbed as “week to week” after suffering an injury against the Maple Leafs on Feb. 25, although that didn’t preclude the Edmonton Oilers from trading for him on Tuesday.
It remains to be seen if Marchand’s injury would take him out of the mix as a trade chip ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. Much like Frederic, Marchand could still be coveted by several contending teams so long as he’s available for postseason action.
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“Brad seems like he’s always in good spirits, and you see him — he’s always got his head down and just putting in work, no matter what it is,” Charlie Coyle said of Marchand’s demeanor following his injury. “No matter if he’s injured, if he’s playing that night, whatever.
“He’s putting in work and doing something and getting better or getting right. So that’s how he was today when I saw him, and he’s always just positive.”
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