In the past two Boston Bruins wins, no player came up bigger for the Black and Gold than captain Brad Marchand.
Not only did the 35-year-old forward score the game-winning overtime goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, but he also put Boston on his back against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night by recording the first natural hat trick of his career.
“He’s just an excellent player, and he helps you win even if he’s not scoring,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said, per the team. “I don’t worry about production per se with him. It’s going to come we know that.”
Even with four goals in two games, Montgomery said Marchand’s leadership stood out more during the Bruins’ three-game losing skid to the Detroit Red Wings, New York Ranger and Blue Jackets.
“I think his leadership stood out more as we were going through our adversity and losing,” Montgomery explained. “How well he led us in his practice habits and helping the team dig in on the checking part of our game.”
Charlie McAvoy played in his 400th regular season game, all for the Bruins, against the Blue Jackets and notched his fourth multipoint game of the season by assisting on two of Marchand’s goals.
“Man, unbelievable,” McAvoy said of Marchand on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Natural hat trick in the third. It really felt like he just kinda threw us on his back and said, ‘I’ll take us across the finish line here.’ He has that capability and he plays with so much passion and energy. … He came out and put us on his shoulders. I’m so happy for him. He’s cap, that’s what he does.”
McAvoy added: “He’s just a special player. It’s what he’s done his whole career. It was awesome to not only (Saturday) night — get the winner, then carry it over to today … he means the world to this group. When he’s in that zone we got to follow along.”
Marchand snapped a five-game scoreless streak against Toronto and said while it was nice to record the hat trick in the Bruins win on Sunday he doesn’t base his game on scoring alone.
“I don’t judge my game based on if I score or not,” Marchand said on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It’s more about how the details are going and if opportunities are there. If you’re consistently getting them, they’re gonna going in eventually. I wasn’t really worried about it. I learned at this point of my career that’s how the game goes.”
The hat trick was Marchand’s sixth of his career which ties him for 10th all-time in Bruins history. The captain joined Dit Clapper, Herb Cain, Wayne Cashman, Barry Pederson and Adam Oates as the other Boston players to record six in their careers.
