Brad Marchand is no stranger to toeing the line, even during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Right at the end of the Boston Bruins’ second-round Game 3 with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, Marchand landed a soft punch to the back of Scott Harrington’s head. He reportedly won’t be disciplined for the jab.
Marchand has since acknowledged the “unnecessary play,” claiming it was in defense of Jake DeBrusk, who had just taken a couple of punches in front of the Blue Jackets’ net.
Meanwhile, Harrington doesn’t seem the least bit fazed by the incident.
“It’s fine,” he said. “That’s what helmets are for, so it’s good. Stuff like that is going to happen. We’re not going to make anything out of it. There’s no suspension. It’s a hockey play. It’s the playoffs. You’re going to take some shots. We’re not going to let it linger past today.”
But Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno wasn’t pleased with Marchand’s conduct.
“I don’t think it’s a play you like to see in hockey, but I’m not going to really worry about it,” he said. “We have more important things to worry about, so … what we did is get the win.”
Despite this, Foligno said the Blue Jackets don’t plan on any sort of retaliation against Marchand or the B’s.
“We can handle punches. We’ve all taken them at some point, and (punches) are just part of playing the game. (What Marchand did) is not part of the game, I will say. But we’re going to go about playing the game the right way and doing what we need to do to win hockey games.”
Will they stick to their word? We’ll see when the Bruins take on the Blue Jackets on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
