Around the NHL: Paul Bissonnette and Brad Marchand share hilarious segments on NHL on TNT

Before the Bruins’ game on Wednesday, Bissonnette interviewed Marchand in a prop neck brace and head bandages, leading to a minute of hilarious entertainment.

The Bruins ended up defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2, with Marchand scoring his ninth and tenth goals of the season, including the game-winning goal. After the game, Marchand was interviewed again, leading to more friendly insults being hurled between him and Bissonnette.

It’s hard to argue that TNT doesn’t have the best intermissions in the sport, as they’ve decided to go down the entertainment path, rather than the analysis path. It’s a playbook that was tried and tested with Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley on Inside NBA, also on TNT for its final year. Hopefully when Marchand retires, he will join the panel as well, because this was amazing.

Tij Iginla will miss the rest of the Western Hockey League season

Moving on to hockey news, current Kelowna Rocket and Utah Hockey Club prospect Tij Iginla will miss the rest of the season due to hip surgery.

Son of Calgary Flame legend Jarome, Iginla scored 14 goals and 32 points in 21 games for the Kelowna Rockets. Last season, he scored 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games, along with nine goals and 15 points in 11 postseason games.

With the sixth overall pick in the 2024 draft, the Hockey Club picked him with their first ever pick in franchise history (they moved from Arizona but it’s technically a new franchise). The Flames weren’t able to pick him, as they occupied the ninth spot in the draft, using that pick to select right-shot defenceman Zayne Parekh.

Iginla’s absence from Team Canada’s preliminary World Junior Championship roster makes a bit of sense, but hopefully this isn’t a long-term issue for the 18-year-old.

Joel Eriksson Ek is out week-to-week

Sticking with injuries, Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo.

This season, Eriksson Ek has five goals and 13 points in 22 games after scoring a career-high 30 goals and 64 points in 77 games last season with the Wild. The 27-year-old was also named to Team Sweden’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

Last season, the Wild missed the postseason by a large margin, but lead the league in points this season with a 17-4-4 record. Time will tell if they can keep it up and how much Eriksson Ek’s injury will impact them.