Bruins forward Brad Marchand granted Boston a much-appreciated two points following a 3-2 overtime victory against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night, and he was grateful that he was able to redeem himself in doing so.
Marchand, in what essentially was a two-fold explanation, acknowledged how Monday’s game-winning goal meant a little extra given that he was making up for a mistake he made. Marchand made a game-altering turnover to lead to the Canadiens scoring a short-handed goal 1:13 into the third period. It gave Montreal a 2-1 advantage as Marchand attempted to send a pass to Charlie McAvoy with Boston on a man advantage at the Montreal blue line.
“Again, I was just really happy that we didn’t lose because that turnover. So it’s more, you know, I kind of owed the group there and it felt good to be able to bounce back and produce in that situation after making such a bad play,” Marchand said after Monday’s win, per a team-provided video. “So it was more the fact that we won and we got out of there after that, big sigh of relief. It’s embarrassing when you make plays like that, you feel like you let the whole group down, and it’s tough to be on that side of it. So to be able to bounce back from it, it was nice.”
It was a little extra sweet, too, because Marchand was able to have the last laugh in his individual competition with Montreal goaltender Jake Allen. Marchand explained how he didn’t appreciate the gamesmanship from Allen after making one specific glove save at the end of the second period.
“I kind of knew it was gonna come back just because of the way he kind of showboated on the save at the end of the second,” Marchand said. “I had to add a little extra, I want to score a little bit extra on that one because of that save so luckily it went in.”
Here are some other notes from Bruins-Canadiens:
— Marchand now sits fourth all-time in overtime goals scored (17) while trailing on Alex Ovechkin (24), Jaromir Jagr (19) and Sidney Crosby (18), as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage.
— Jeremy Swayman, in his first game against the Canadiens in a jam-packed Bell Centre, finished with 26 saves on 28 shots. It was a performance that Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy has come to expect.
“And as for Swayman, like I said, I don’t think the moments bother him at all, a bit like (Charlie) McAvoy like that as a young guy. There are exceptions when they come in as young players that can rise up as the temperature of the game goes up and the importance of the game, their game goes up,” Cassidy said after the game. “And Swayman seems to be that guy, too.”
— Jake Debrusk explained how it was helpful to finally have gained some clarity given that he was not traded by the Bruins before Monday afternoon’s deadline.
“It was definitely a difficult day. It’s been a difficult week and, you know, it’s one of those things where, like I said, it was a difficult week,” DeBrusk said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty. You don’t necessarily know, and I think that’s the one thing that I’ve taken away from it passed 4 p.m. today. I haven’t felt clarity in three months. So I haven’t known where, if I’m going to go, where I’m going to go or any of that kind of stuff. So now I know and it’s nice to kind of have that done with.”
— The Bruins added another depth defenseman Monday with the addition of Josh Brown before the NHL trade deadline. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney explained how Brown will provide Boston with a tough, physical defender.
— Patrice Bergeron, who has missed each of the last three games, could be available when the Bruins return to the ice Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch it live on NESN.
