Pat Maroon’s job is pretty straightforward, but the Bruins winger finds himself in a tricky situation ahead of Game 3 against the Panthers. Boston added Maroon at the trade deadline for these sorts of situations. The 6-foot-3, 234-pound Maroon was brought in not just because he’s a three-time Stanley Cup winner, but the Bruins also […]
Pat Maroon’s job is pretty straightforward, but the Bruins winger finds himself in a tricky situation ahead of Game 3 against the Panthers.
Boston added Maroon at the trade deadline for these sorts of situations. The 6-foot-3, 234-pound Maroon was brought in not just because he’s a three-time Stanley Cup winner, but the Bruins also needed some size and extra toughness for a series like this with Florida.
The Panthers flexed their muscles last spring in a seven-game series win over the heavily favored Bruins. Boston beefed up its group in the offseason and the deadline with the hopes of becoming a little harder to push around, both literally and figuratively. Now, after a fight-filled Game 2 loss to the Panthers, highlighted by a scrap between David Pastrnak and Matthew Tkachuk, all eyes turn to a potential response from Maroon, who was already in the dressing room serving his own misconduct penalty.
However, Maroon can’t just go out there and jump Tkachuk — or anyone else on Florida, for that matter. He acknowledged as much Friday morning, explaining the balance needed between trying to flex his muscle but doing so in a way that makes sense for the Bruins.
“It’s two skilled guys fighting. I mean, Tkachuk’s not going to fight me,” Maroon told reporters, as seen in a video shared by Boston.com’s Conor Ryan. “So, if I go out there and take a dumb penalty, and they get a power play, then my job’s not accomplished.”
Of all the possible outcomes Friday night in Game 3, Tkachuk fighting Maroon would be the most surprising. Tkachuk is one of the Panthers’ most important and most skilled players. Maroon at this point in his career is a bottom-six forward averaging less than 10 minutes of ice time per night. Agreeing to fight Maroon isn’t just a potential death sentence for Tkachuk, it’s also a trade the Panthers don’t want to make, taking both players off the ice for at least five minutes.
Additionally, as Maroon himself noted, he can’t afford to get silly and try to provoke Tkachuk. If Tkachuk has half a brain, he’ll either just skate away or goad Maroon into a penalty to put Florida on a power play.
“Can’t look at it like that. Just gotta take numbers,” he added. “Obviously I don’t like how he hit him on the ground — twice. I think that’s dirty. I like the idea of him fighting. I think Pasta did a good job. That’s what leaders do. He stood up for the team, he took charge. You’ve gotta love that stuff out of your leader, right?”
As Maroon also pointed out, he and Tkachuk won’t be sharing the ice much. Through 120 minutes of hockey so far, the two have been on the ice together for just 4 minutes and 25 seconds, and that was with Florida having the benefit of last change. They’ll probably see even less of each other in Boston.
That doesn’t mean Maroon won’t try to impose his will some other way in Game 3 and beyond. If he’s on the ice, he’s typically looking to hit someone, and a message can certainly be sent to anyone else in a Panthers sweater with hard, clean hits take a toll over a seven-game series.
There could ultimately be retribution for Tkachuk, but blood-thirsty B’s fans might have to wait until next season for that score to be settled.
