BOSTON — Brad Marchand set a career-high last season with 100 points (36 goals, 64 assists). The Bruins star hopes to see a similar level of production in the upcoming campaign, but he’s not paying too much mind to personal statistics.
There’s no reason to believe Marchand won’t be able to eclipse the 100-point threshold for a second consecutive season. The trio of Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak rank among the best first lines in the NHL and nearly are unstoppable when they’re rolling. Marchand knows if his line, and the B’s as a whole, play to their full potential, the numbers will follow.
“I think when we go into the season we’re not concerned about personal stats,” Marchand said Tuesday at Bruins media day. “It’s part of it, obviously, but I’ll take 20 points as long as we get there. When you have a good team and you have a good group, everyone benefits from that. Everyone had a good year last year, so it kind of just comes with being on a good team. We expect to have another good year this year coming back with the majority of the team. I think with personal stats come with having a good team.”
It would have been tough to envision Marchand as a 100-point scorer when he made his way into the NHL back in 2009. The winger initially earned his keep with Boston as a fourth-line grinder, only to become one of hockey’s top two-way players. Marchand understands full well his annual progression has opened the door for more opportunities, which have allowed him to stuff the stat sheet in recent seasons.
“I think compared to where I was to where I am now, it’s a process,” Marchand said. “I’ve always tried to put in the work, but so much of it is being put into a good situation. Playing with Bergy and Pasta, having Zee (Zdeno Chara) and the D (defense) that we have in the back end and then playing special teams is huge, too. Any top point scorer in the league plays a lot of power-play minutes and that’s something I didn’t get early in my career. Being put in that position later obviously helped a lot and allowed me to get a lot more confidence in that part of the game.”
Marchand will look to kick off his 11th season on a high note Thursday night when the Black and Gold open their 2019-20 slate in Dallas.
