Brad Marchand’s Trash Talk No Big Deal To Claude Julien, Fellow Bruins

BOSTON — The full spectrum of Brad Marchand’s talents was on display Saturday night in Dallas.

In helping the Bruins to a 7-3 bulldozing of the Stars, the veteran winger scored twice, added one assist and recorded six shots on goal in his second three-point effort in 10 days.

That’s the Marchand whom B’s fans have become accustomed to seeing this season — an offensive dynamo who already has surpassed his career high for goals and is on pace to score more than any Bruin has in the last decade.

But even in the midst of his most productive season to date, Marchand remains an agitator at heart. After the Bruins had built a comfortable lead late in the third period Saturday night, television cameras caught him blowing a kiss in the face of Stars forward Patrick Eaves.

Eaves, naturally, was not amused.

Moves like that aren’t likely to earn Marchand many popularity points outside the Bruins’ dressing room, but those inside it didn’t seem to mind at all.

“He comes in with some confidence and some swagger, and it feeds throughout the locker room,” defenseman Torey Krug said Monday morning. “It’s important to have a guy like that. When teams are winning, they usually have a guy like that, so it’s nice to have him going for us.”

Bruins head coach Claude Julien — the most important man for Marchand to please — offered a similar take.

“We know what he’s been,” Julien said. “He’s been good. He plays on the edge sometimes, (but) I didn’t see him do anything wrong on Saturday. What I saw him do was score two goals, which were important ones for us.”

Marchand, the coach continued, is not the NHL’s only trash-talker.

“Players do that all the time,” Julien said. “It’s not just March — it’s everyone else. He has a tendency to get under people’s skin sometimes, but as long as he doesn’t cross the line and he’s not doing anything worse than anybody else, I have no issues with that.”

That’s not to say Marchand never crosses the line. Zac Rinaldo is the only Bruin with more penalty minutes this season than Marchand’s 72, and Marchand’s low hit on Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki in late December earned him a three-game suspension, sidelining him for the NHL Winter Classic.

But in his mind, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of smack talk.

“I just think it’s … at times, they go further than others,” Marchand said. “But (the Eaves exchange) was just a simple little thing, and we all want to move on. So that’s all.”

Thumbnail photo via Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports Images