Bruins’ Brad Marchand Has High Praise For Sidney Crosby Following Loss

BOSTON — Bruins captain Brad Marchand has had the opportunity to play alongside Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby at the national level for Team Canada and against him whenever Boston and Pittsburgh match up in a contest.

Despite Crosby’s age (36), Marchand believes the Pittsburgh captain is still one of the best players in the National Hockey League.

“I think he’s still, I’ll say, one of the best in the world, but he’s not really getting the credit he deserves right now,” Marchand said. “A lot of the attention is on the younger guys, but if you look at the details of the game, and full 200 feet, he’s by far the best player in the league.”

Marchand doesn’t just think Crosby is one of the best when he’s playing, it’s what he does in the offseason as well.

“It’s all in the way that he prepares and the way he has for years,” Marchand said. “I think that’s what a lot of players, especially young players, is that the work you put in when you’re younger, early in your careers and throughout your career, doesn’t just benefit you for the next season; it’s a continuation and building it for down the road. That’s something he’s done so well for such a long time.”

Marchand and Crosby are only a year apart in age, but the Penguins center has played four more years in the NHL than the Bruins forward. Marchand alluded to the fact that Crosby is pretty much ageless when it comes to the game.

“The way he trains and takes care of himself and is always trying to get better is competitiveness, on and off the ice. It’s just it’s unmatched,” Marchand said. “He’s created an environment for himself where he’ll be able to play at that level for as long as he wants to. Especially how soft the league’s getting now. You’re not getting banged and beat up the way that maybe you guys were getting in the past, and when he can skate so well, he’s not gonna slow down, so it just depends on how long he’s gonna want to play.”

Given his history with Crosby, Marchand told Pat McAfee that the game between Boston and Pittsburgh was about bragging rights. This time around, Crosby got the better Marchand with the Penguins defeating the Bruins 6-5 on Thursday night. Marchand won’t have the opportunity to chirp Crosby this time around and joked that Crosby won’t take advantage of the situation.

“Better not,” Marchand laughed. “He’s a humble guy. He doesn’t rub it in too much. But he may take a shot every now and again. It’s usually face-to-face that he does that.”

Marchand and the Bruins will have to wait until Mar. 9 for the rematch against the Penguins when Boston hosts Pittsburgh at TD Garden.