BOSTON -- Brad Marchand had just completed a hat trick -- or would that be a Rat trick? -- of incidents that were intended to irritate, then possibly to injure Tristan Jarry, all within the final 20-plus minutes of the Penguins' 4-2 victory over the Bruins on this Tuesday night at TD Garden.
And when the worst of those came last, a sneaky, sinister swipe of the stick across Jarry's mask as Marchand had appeared to be headed off the ice, the goaltender's teammates responded by ... doing nothing?
Yeah, pretty much.
A little context first:
OK, that's just ridiculous. That's just, as one Boston writer seated in my press box row put it, "Marchy being Marchy." He's annoying to the extreme, and he tends to find ways to be that without risking a penalty.
I mean, what'd be the call up there?
It's the end of the second period. After the horn, for crying out loud. Jarry's got the puck on his big blade, poised to flip it to a fan over the glass, and Marchand skates by to knock it away. Then, after picking it up, with referee Jean Hebert now tailing him -- undoubtedly wondering himself what'd be the call -- he animatedly sidearms it toward an ice crew member skating by.
What to do?
Well, probably exactly what Jarry did, which was to follow him a few feet, say a few words, then accept Kris Letang's calm ushering to the bench for a sip of cool water.
This was different:
This was also a stoppage, with 24 ticks left, two-goal lead, absolutely nothing left for Marchand to achieve beyond more mischief. Which, being who he is, he embraced, first with an out-of-nowhere punch to the left side of Jarry's masked face, then with the stick swipe.
Now, allow me, please, to share three observations from my live perspective from the press box, since this happened just below my side. Because that really can paint a different picture than what's afforded by TV, even with multiple angles and replays:
1. I saw Marchand creeping up for the initial punch. It wasn't happenstance.
2. I saw Letang go loco when it happened. I've yet to find a single replay to support that, but then, that's why I pack my toothbrush and fly to these things. I thought Letang was going to kill Marchand until he'd been intercepted -- hard -- by Boston's Charlie McAvoy.
3. I saw most of the Penguins on the ice entangled in the corner during the stick swipe, but at least two -- Bryan Rust and Brian Dumoulin -- were looking right at it. Rust never altered his stride, continuing to glide in Marchand's direction but with no hint of pursuit. Dumoulin did the same, in addition to briefly turning to address referee Wes McCauley.
That was it.
And I'm not going to lie: I didn't like it.
No, I'm not about to question Rust's toughness. If anything, this entire evening was a testament to that specific trait. He was bloodied in the mouth by a high hit from Connor Clifton, and was felled again when struck in the boot by a Dumoulin point shot. He bounced back for an assist, a goal and a victory.
And no, I'm not about to question Dumoulin's toughness. If anything, this entire evening was a reminder of his peak form from the Stanley Cup years. He was dominant in the defensive end throughout, highlighted by this gem:
Both players are nails-tough.
So's the team, believe it or not. It really is. Physically and mentally. Fact is, it requires far greater resolve to take a hit than to deliver one, provided the result is a good hockey play. It requires physical strength to be able to withstand an opponent getting nasty, and it takes mental strength to keep in mind that the best revenge gets recorded on the scoreboard.
The team itself is nails-tough, top to bottom.
So's the head coach who espouses all of this, day in and day out.
Think about this for a second: Mike Sullivan reports directly to Ron Hextall and Brian Burke, one of the snarliest goaltenders in NHL history and the executive who brought the term 'truculence' to the sport's fore. And this head coach has the unwavering faith of those two men in every scenario, including these. Even these.
That's a testament to Sullivan, his system and, above all, his accomplishments to date.
I get why he preaches this. I get why he demands his players practice this.
I even get why, when asked about this incident after the game, he began with a literal shrug. Watch for it:
"Yeah, obviously, emotions got carried away there at the end," Sullivan said. "And I didn't see some of it, quite honestly. But obviously, that's not anything that we can control. So we're not really focused on it."
He saw it. He doesn't miss a thing, much less something of that scope.
But he's telling the truth about the control and the focus. And he means it. He doesn't think small. He sees this foundation as part of what makes a playoff performer, he sees the rest as a waste of energy and commitment, he makes that powerfully clear to everyone under his watch, and it's brought so much more good than bad that it's close to impossible to question it.
I sure won't question it.
Except maybe this once.
That's your goaltender out there. Your team MVP by such a broad margin that there won't be a runner-up. Your guy who might've just had the game of his life in stopping 43 Boston shots, including at least a dozen of the spectacular caliber and one that was out of this world.
There's 24 ticks on the clock. Two-goal lead. Nothing to lose.
Go nuts on that goofball.
I don't care how. I don't care who. I don't care that it was Sidney Crosby's line on the ice. I don't even care if some fourth-liner, maybe Brian Boyle, leaps over the boards and gets suspended, taking one for the team. I don't care if all 18 skaters, plus Casey DeSmith, plus Teddy Blueger and his broken jaw, plus Kevin Stevens sitting up in the seats, came streaming onto the ice for a WWE-style free-for-all.
That's your goaltender out there.
He was punched in the head, then sticked in the face. Hebert and McCauley conferred and reached consensus that Marchand deserved no less than a five-minute match penalty, one that requires a player to have a hearing with NHL Player Safety. And given this face-licking psycho's sordid history ...
Marchand's suspension history since 2011-12:
— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) February 9, 2022
5 GP (v Salo, Van) 1/7/12
2 GP (v Brassard, NYR) 1/15/15
3 GP (v Borowiecki, Ott) 12/29/15
2 GP (v Dotchin, TB) 4/4/17
5 GP (v Johansson, NJ) 1/23/18
3 GP (v Ekman-Larsson, Van) 11/28/21
... he won't get off with a fine.
But he did get off with nothing from the goaltender's teammates. And at the risk of coming across as all-out Cro-Magnon here, the rest of the league's coaches and players see that. They remember it. And they'll keep coming after Jarry. Not just because that'd now clearly be the best way to beat the Penguins, but also because ... they can.
Sullivan's players, predictably, had nothing to offer on this.
I asked Dumoulin, the only skater on the ice who'd been made available to media, to share his thoughts on Marchand's actions, and he replied, "Yeah, I didn't see ... obviously, I saw his stick get up high on Tristan after, but I didn't see the initial play. I was facing the other way. I haven't watched it or anything, so I'm not really sure what started it. But yeah, I haven't watched it."
He saw the stick swipe. Said so, even.
I asked Jarry himself to share his thoughts on Marchand's actions, and he replied, "I think it's just the heat of the moment. I think everyone's battling hard out there, and he's just trying to get the puck to the net and I think the team did a great job."
Admittedly incredulous, I asked again if he had no reaction to the swipe, which I'm kinda confident he saw, and he replied, "It's part of the game. I think it just stays on the ice."
It's not part of the game.
They know all this. They're following orders.
And I'll repeat: They're the right orders.
Usually.
Bruce Cassidy, Sullivan's Boston counterpart, came as close as anyone to criticizing Marchand.
“That happened quickly," Cassidy began. "A lack of discipline, obviously, on Brad's part in that situation. I just watched the replay at the end, and it looked like some words were exchanged. I don’t know if there was an incident at the end of the second period that precipitated that. I was in the room, so I don't know. Someone said that. Still, you've got to have better discipline at the end of the day. Brad's a leader on our team and he needs to control his emotions."
Hey, I didn't say it was harsh criticism.
But Cassidy knows all this, too. As do 30 other coaches who'll make it part of their prep when facing Pittsburgh. That's when the real cost will come.
• I've got a full separate column on all else related to the game.
• Thanks for reading this one, as always.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at TD Garden:
1. Tristan Jarry, Penguins
2. David Pastrnak, Bruins
3. Danton Heinen, Penguins
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• Evgeni Malkin, center, is on the NHL's COVID list and will miss at least the Thursday game in Ottawa.
• Teddy Blueger, center, has been on IR since undergoing surgery to repair a fractured jaw Jan. 24. He's expected to miss 6-8 weeks. He's accompanied the team on this trip to skate and keep himself in shape.
• Drew O'Connor, left winger, has been on LTIR since Jan. 15 with an upper-body injury. He resumed practicing here Monday as a limited participant.
• Jason Zucker, left winger, has been on IR since undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle Jan. 25. He's week-to-week.
• Louis Domingue, goaltender, has been on IR since he was struck by a puck in the right foot at a morning skate Jan. 20. He's week-to-week.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
McGinn-Carter-Kapanen
Zohorna-Rodrigues-Heinen
Aston-Reese-Boyle-Simon
Dumoulin-Letang
Pettersson-Marino
Matheson-Ruhwedel
And for Cassidy's Bruins:
Marchand-Bergeron–Smith
Hall-Haula-Pastrnak
DeBrusk-Coyle-Steen
Foligno-Nosek-Lazar
Grzelcyk-McAvoy
Reilly-Carlo
Forbort-Clifton
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins had been set to take off for Ottawa on an overnight charter and practice there Wednesday, but a travel issue forced them to spend another night here. So, they'll be right back at this rink for practice today at noon, and I will, too, to cover it.
The next game is Thursday, 7:08 p.m. against the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre and, no, for anyone wondering, that's nowhere near the ongoing trucker protest in the heart of the country's capital. The Kanata neighborhood is a half-hour drive to the west. Dave Molinari will have that game.
THE CONTENT
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