Sometimes it feels like just yesterday that Brad Marchand was an eager rookie just looking to make a name for himself as a hungry fourth liner on a Stanley Cup contending team.
The Little Ball of Bruins Hate has done that and then some.
The 35-year-old has come a long way from that up-and-coming kid from Nova Scotia while doing notable things like passing Ray Bourque on the all-time Bruins goal-scoring list (fifth all-time with 396 career goals) as he did with Thursday night’s OT winner in a 3-2 victory over Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Marchand now has fifth place all to himself with 396 career goals and needs only seven more scores this season to pass Rick Middleton for fourth all-time on a list where it’s the Black and Gold best of the best (Johnny Bucyk, Phil Esposito and Patrice Bergeron) just ahead of him.
It’s getting to be heady territory for Marchand, who is only a handful of games from hitting the iconic 1,000 games played in his NHL career as well as rocketing up the list of Bruins scoring legends.
“It’s special,” said Marchand, who scored three goals in back-to-back games to pass Bourque on the all-time list. “I try not to think too much about it, but it’s special. I never thought my career would come this far and some of the things that have gone on would have happened. I’ve been extremely fortunate and very lucky to be part of a group that’s had a lot of success and a lot of phenomenal guys to learn from.
“What’s even more impressive is that [Bourque] did that as a D-man. His stats when you look at them are so incredible. What’s even better about him is the leader he was and the compete level he brought every day that guys that played with him talk about even now. That’s what I admire the most about him. You try to get better every day. To be in company with somebody like that is incredible. It’s just great to be around people like that you can learn from every day and it’s what makes this organization so special.”
The way Marchand did it was just as notable given the overtime heroics.
It was Charlie Coyle and Marchand breaking out 2-on-1 at the end of a fairly long OT shift, but Marchand still had enough in the tank to rip a hard, low snapshot that beat Joonas Korpisalo inside the far post for the game-winning goal. The score was historic for Marchand and lifted the B’s overtime record to 3-8 on the season in an OT session where they controlled most of the puck possession for a change.
“I think the biggest thing is finishing off a game that looked like an uphill battle sometimes,” said Jeremy Swayman. “It’s really special to get it in a back-to-back and finish it off in overtime. Huge congrats to Marchy passing some pretty big names on the scoring list. It’s a pretty big win for us as we move forward.”
There was plenty working against Marchand and Co. with nine penalties called against the Bruins and six power plays handed to Ottawa, with Senators forward Parker Kelly appearing to get young referees Jake Brenk and Brandon Schrader to fall for several embellishments along the way. Anytime there’s an NHL game where the power plays are a 6-to-1 ratio for one team that should cause an eyebrow to be raised, and there were several from Jim Montgomery manning the B’s bench.
“I don’t think we dodged a bullet. I think we took about eight bullets,” said Montgomery. “They had six power plays, we had one. That is one-sided. They battled through it, and I liked how they were able to get back to their 5-on-5 game.”
But Marchand’s heroics allowed the Bruins to not dwell on any short shrift they received from the on-ice officials, who did make a call that also went Boston’s way when they waved off a Josh Norris goal in the third period due to a hand pass that set it up. Instead, it was about Boston’s captain, who has time and time again elevated his performance when Boston has needed it at the most important moments during the regular season.
“It’s the character and the culture. We work hard and we have great second and third effort,” said Montgomery. “And our captain is the epitome of hard work.”
Even before he was an NHL captain, hard work was the basic framework for everything that’s come to pass with Marchand in a Hall of Fame-level career that will have him among the Bruins greats when it’s all said and done. It’s clear in his words and his deeds that Marchand understands that kind of heady responsibility and has taken to it this season both on and off the ice.
Push him a little further on the individual accomplishments and Marchand will gladly set you straight.
“When you play that long and have some success in certain arenas, [you can forget] how cool it would be as a kid seeing your name with those legends,” admitted Marchand, who is just one behind Espo with his 76 game-winning goals in his Bruins career. “That would be pretty special. But you try not to get caught up in it. I still feel like I have a lot of time left, so I don’t care too much about [personal] accolades.
“It’s more about where you end up at the end of the day. You try to measure success by championships won. The personal accolades along the way are great, but I’d much rather be part of Cup teams on the resume than individual goals.”
Marchand is playing these days like he wants to be part of a champion again this season and he showed that in overtime winning style again on Wednesday night.
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