B's Marchand stays hot with OT goal vs. Bolts
Here is one you probably didn’t see coming at the start of the season.
It is the second week of March, and if you look at the NHL’s leading goal scorers these are the first names you will see.
Alex Ovechkin. Patrick Kane.
OK, nothing out of the ordinary yet, let’s see who is third. Wait … is that … Brad Marchand?!
Yeah. It is. You definitely did not see that one coming.
Thanks to his two-way play and ability to get under the skin of his opponents, Marchand has always been an excellent player for the Bruins and a core piece of their roster. That reputation as an agitator has probably overshadowed the fact he really has been a very productive player in the NHL.
But he has never had a season quite like this in terms of being a goal-scoring force. His performance is a big reason why the team has bounced back from a disappointing 2014-15 season and is now tied for first place in the NHL’s Atlantic Division with the Tampa Bay Lightning after they defeated them 1-0 on Tuesday thanks to an overtime goal by Marchand.
Here is a look at the goal, which came right off the opening faceoff of the 3-on-3 period thanks to a great pass from Patrice Bergeron.
OT didn’t take too long for the @NHLBruins.https://t.co/AyY4Sk4xsh
— NHL (@NHL) March 9, 2016
For Marchand, that is already his 34th goal of the season and has him just four behind Kane even though Marchand has played in four fewer games this season. He continues to set a career high for himself with every goal after never scoring more than 28 in a single season before this one.
So what is behind the sudden surge in goals?
It might simply be a matter of him taking on a bigger role in the team’s offense because there really isn’t much else that is difference about his performance.
He is getting an additional two minutes of ice-time per game compared to his normal career averages, including a much larger role on the team’s power play. All of that has helped result in a spike in his shots on goal numbers and allowed him to get one additional shot on goal per game. Pretty much everything else about his play is right in line with the rest of his career.
For a player that has always been a high percentage shooter (career shooting percentage of 15.4 percent) that extra ice time and extra shot on goal per game can add up pretty quickly.
Don’t think it makes a big difference?
Look at it this way: If Marchand had the exact same shooting percentage for the season (16.4 percent) and was averaging one less shot on goal per game (which would be at his normal career average) he would only have 23 goals at the moment and only be on pace for 29 on the season.
Remember, he already has 34 and is on pace for more than 40.
The Bruins are not the shutdown defensive force they were a few years ago when they were playing for the Stanley Cup two times in three years and are relying almost entirely on their offense to carry them. At the moment, it is. Nobody has been a bigger factor in it than Marchand.
He is getting an opportunity to do more offensively, and he is making the most of it.
It could not come at a better time for him, either, as he will be eligible to sign a new contract extension with the team on July 1 when he enters the final year of his current deal. He keeps scoring goals like this, he is going to be looking at a pretty significant pay raise.
Brad Marchand keeps scoring goals for the Boston Bruins. (USATSI)
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