Bruins' Marchand has hearing, may miss Classic

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand will have a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his low-bridge hit on Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki during Tuesday night’s game. It is extremely rare for a player to come out of a hearing without a suspension, making it likely that the Bruins agitator will miss the 2016 NHL Winter Classic.

Boston’s Brad Marchand will have a hearing today for clipping and interference on Ottawa’s Mark Borowiecki.

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) December 30, 2015

Since Marchand was suspended for a slew-foot last January, he is a repeat offender in the eyes of the Department of Player Safety. That could affect the length of his suspension and is another reason why he won’t get the benefit of the doubt.

The Bruins forward maintained after the game that his contact with Borowiecki was incidental as he was just trying to turn up ice. Here’s what Marchand told reporters after the game via WEEI’s Big Bad Blog:

“It was a simple play,” Marchand said. “I mean, I was trying to get to the puck area and turned up ice. He was kind of standing there. I just turned up and tried to go after the puck-carrier.”

However, Marchand ducked low, first making contact right near Borowiecki’s knee. He had to know where Borowiecki was and took an angle that would cause that contact. The hit sent the Senators defenseman head over heels, landing face first on the ice.

Borowiecki at no point had the puck during the play and it’s also important to note that the two bumped shoulders while skating side-by-side to indicate there was already a little feistiness between the two and that Marchand would have been aware of where Borowiecki was on the ice. Here’s another look at it.

As a reminder, Marchand has been suspended for clipping in the past as well. He was banned five games for an incident involving Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo. Marchand ducked low and sent Salo flying backwards, hitting his head on the ice and causing a concussion. The DoPS even uses that hit in their educational video to differentiate clipping from traditional hip checks.

With Marchand likely getting suspended, that will cost the Bruins two of their best offensive players for the Winter Classic. David Krejci, who is second on the team with 33 points, is already out for the big event with an injury. Meanwhile, Marchand is the team’s leading goal scorer with 15 this season.

The NHL surely doesn’t want to take some of the star power out of a game that already will be missing Carey Price and Krejci, but they probably don’t have any other choice in this instance. That’s especially true with Marchand being a repeat offender and committing two infractions on the same hit.

Brad Marchand will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety. (USATSI)

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