Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand snapped a ten-game goalless streak and finally hit the 400-goal milestone against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.
Marchand had not scored a goal since he had a goal and an assist in a 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins back on March 9 at TD Garden. Marchand scored just 2:12 into the game to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead, end his goal drought, and move him to within two goals of tying Rick Middleton for fourth all-time on the Bruins franchise-leading goalscorers. Marchand now has 28 goals in 77 games this season.
Since signing his current eight-year, $49 million ($6.1M AAV) contract extension on Sept. 26, 2016, Brad Marchand has become an elite NHL winger, four-time all-star, and has scored 246 goals and 391 assists in 569 games. He also became the 27th captain in Bruins franchise history just prior to this season. The now 35-year-old winger hit the 30-goal plateau for three straight seasons (39,34, and 36) after signing the extension and then did so again when he lit the lamp 32 times in the 2021-22 season. He now has five games to score 30 goals for the sixth time in his career.
As mentioned above, Marchand needs two goals to tie Rick Middleton for fourth overall in Bruins franchise goal-scoring. He needs 27 more to tie former Bruins captain and Marchand’s longtime linemate Patrice Bergeron for third overall, and if he can find the fountain of youth and play long enough, 59 more to tie Phil Esposito for second overall in franchise history. Johnny Bucyk’s 545 goals for the most goals in Boston Bruins history is probably unattainable for Marchand.
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