BOSTON — Brad Marchand received a scare on Thursday night when he took an Alex Ovechkin shot off his foot, but appears to have escaped serious injury.
Marchand didn't think that at the time, however, as he hobbled to the locker room fearing the worst.
"I couldn't put any pressure on it when I was on the ice," said Marchand after Saturday's morning skate. "It just went numb. Guys had told me before when they broke their feet or hands it just goes numb, so I was kind of panicking at that point and time. But when I got back to the room I started to get some feeling back. I was just more scared that it was broken."
Marchand even returned to play a couple shifts later in the game, but was given a day off from practice on Friday.
"I played two shifts after it, but I found I was a little cautious of it and I was playing a little weird," said Marchand.
"I feel a lot better today," added Marchand. "It was nice to have that day off to rest my foot. It felt good when I was out there [for the morning skate]."
Marchand stated that x-rays were negative, and he plans to play against the Rangers on Saturday night.
"It's a little tender, but I'll be able to go tonight," said Marchand. "I can't afford to sit out any games. It's not that bad."
Bruins coach Claude Julien expects to use Marchand, but won't make a final decision until after the pre-game warm-ups.
"He seems good," said Julien. "This morning I talked to him again and he said he felt good. Obviously we'll make the final decision after warm-ups if there is an issue. If not, he'll be in the lineup."
Marchand is just lucky he didn't take a shot to the mouth. He'll need all his vocal dexterity in this one as the Bruins' new agitator will be going up against one of the most notorious trash-talkers in the league in New York's Sean Avery.
"I'd imagine there will be [a lot of chirping]," said Marchand. "They have a couple guys over there I'm looking forward to playing against. Avery obviously is the main guy, so it'll be fun to get out there and see what we can get riled up."
Marchand played against the Rangers once last year, but was spared most of Avery's verbal wrath.
"He was all over Vladdy [Sobotka] last year," said Marchand. "Vladdy was on my line and I don't think he liked Vladdy for some reason, because he was all over him."
With Sobotka now in St. Louis and Marchand fast developing a reputation as a motor mouth himself, he's more likely to draw Avery's attention this time around. Marchand plans to be prepared, however, with a little help from linemate Shawn Thornton, who's never without a quick quip.
"I'm going to talk to Thorty about that before the game," said Marchand. "Hopefully he's got some stuff for me."
Assuming Marchand is good to go after testing the foot a final time in warm-ups, the Bruins will stick with the same lineup again and Daniel Paille, Brian McGrattan and Adam McQuaid will remain healthy scratches.
Tuukka Rask was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate. That's usually an indication of who is starting, but the Bruins reversed that trend on Thursday as part of an elaborate ruse to deceive the Capitals and the media about their intentions to start Tim Thomas.
Still, Rask should get this start, as it has been two weeks since his only appearance in the season opener in Prague and he has had plenty of past success against the Rangers (2-1-0, 1.34 GAA, .957 save percentage, 1 shutout).
The Rangers will counter with Henrik Lundqvist in net, while forwards Marian Gaborik (shoulder), Chris Drury (finger) and Vinny Prospal (knee) remain out injured. Defenseman Steve Eminger is expected to be the lone healthy scratch.
Hingham's Brian Boyle, usually a center, played right wing for the first time on Thursday against Toronto, and will stay on the wing on the fourth line with center Todd White and enforcer Derek Boogaard.
Projected Bruins lines:
Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Jordan Caron-Patrice Bergeron-Blake Wheeler
Mark Recchi-Tyler Seguin-Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton-Gregory Campbell-Brad Marchand
Defense
Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Mark Stuart- Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Matt Hunwick
Goalies
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas
Scratches: Daniel Paille, Brian McGrattan, Adam McQuaid
Projected Rangers lines:
Forwards
Brandon Dubinsky-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan
Sean Avery-Derek Stepan-Ruslan Fedotenko
Alex Frolov-Erik Christensen-Brandon Prust
Derek Boogaard-Todd White-Brian Boyle
Defense
Marc Staal-Michal Rozsival
Michael Del Zotto-Dan Girardi
Michael Sauer-Matt Gilroy
Goalies
Henrik Lundqvist
Martin Biron
Scratches: Steve Eminger
