Bruins fans held their breath Thursday after Brad Marchand left in the second period of Boston’s 7-1 win and did not return.
After Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno were placed on long-term injured reserve and injured reserve, respectively, the Bruins could ill-afford to lose another left wing.
Thankfully for the B’s, that won’t be the case.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after Thursday’s win that he didn’t believe Marchand’s injury to be serious. Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub reported it was “nothing to worry about” before Montgomery confirmed Friday that Marchand would be available to play Saturday against the New York Rangers.
“I feel good. We weren’t really sure what happened there,” Marchand told reporters at Warrior Ice Arena. “I kind of banged my knee and just wanted to be safe. We were in a good spot going into the third so we just took it easy and made sure we feel good for (Saturday).”
Montgomery added Marchand could have returned for the final period but took the cautionary route instead.
“He’s fine. He could have played (Thursday) night, we were just precautionary in the third,” Montgomery told reporters.
Marchand will resume his role on the top line Saturday when the Bruins host the Rangers for a matinee puck drop at 1 p.m. ET.
