Brad Marchand Had Good Reason For Nearly Fighting Pierre-Luc Dubois

BOSTON — Fans at TD Garden nearly were treated to what would have been a delightful bout between a pair of top-line forwards.

During the first period of the Boston Bruins’ 2-1 overtime victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Brad Marchand and Pierre-Luc Dubois nearly scrapped. It was a pretty interesting sequence to watch, as a referee had shoved Marchand to the bench to keep him from fighting, but he tried to claw his way back onto the ice in order to go with Dubois.

(You can watch the scene here)

After the game, Marchand explained what led to him nearly going at it with the 20-year-old.

“Yeah, the refs kind of got involved there,” Marchand said. “He was just whacking Bergy (Patrice Bergeron), and you don’t touch Bergy like that so. Things happen, kind of heat of the moment but the ref kind of just jumped in and kept us apart, that’s all it was.”

Now it all makes sense.

Marchand has spent most of his NHL career on a line with Bergeron, and he’s never shied away from talking about how much he adores his teammate. So it should come as little surprise the winger tried to step in.