Boston Bruins star forward Brad Marchand stepped into Jim Montgomery’s role momentarily following Thursday’s morning skate.
Marchand made his way to the press conference podium instead of doing his media availability in the locker room and jokingly acted like the coach by giving health updates on players — a frequent responsibility these days for Montgomery. He also named a starting goalie for the matchup with the Montreal Canadiens, giving the nod to Jeremy Swayman.
When it came to giving insight into the progress of Nick Foligno, who has been out with a lower-body injury since late February but is back to practicing, Marchand decided to roast his teammate in a humorous way.
“Still old. Still bald,” Marchand joked with reporters, per team-provided video. “I don’t think that’s coming back.”
While Marchand took a jab at the age of Foligno, the 35-year-old actually isn’t much older than the Bruins’ winger, who is only a year younger.
But Marchand being the jokester he is certainly couldn’t resist giving Foligno, a well-respected veteran for the Bruins, a good-natured ribbing.
The return to game action for Foligno, who has 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points this season while playing primarily on Boston’s fourth line, is uncertain, which is also true for Taylor Hall. Hall is also recovering from a lower-body injury and is back to practicing.
Hall and Foligno won’t be in the lineup Thursday with the Bruins hosting the Canadiens for the first time this season. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
