Days after sending captain Brad Marchand to Florida at the trade deadline, the Boston Bruins will host the Atlantic Division-leading Panthers in the teams’ fourth and final regular-season meeting on Tuesday night.
Marchand is week-to-week with an upper-body injury, but revealed in his first press conference as a Panther that he could skate as soon as Tuesday while joining his new team for the start of a six-game road trip.
Ahead of returning to Boston, Marchand shared fond memories of his time with the Bruins, with whom he had played his entire 16-year NHL career before the shocking trade.
“I wanted to stay there, but at the end of the day, I know that this is a business and every player has a shelf life regardless if that’s when we wanted it to be or not,” Marchand said. “I am grateful beyond words for everything that organization has done for me.”
Marchand joins recent 4 Nations Face-Off teammates Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart with Florida, which has won six straight and eight of its last nine.
It isn’t all great news in Florida, however. Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad was suspended 20 games on Monday for a violation of the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy. Ekblad admitted he took a product to aid with injury recovery without checking if it contained any banned substances.
Ekblad will not be able to return until the third game of Florida’s playoff run.
Saturday’s 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres was its third shutout in four games. It saw fellow Florida newcomers Vitek Vanecek and Nico Sturm — who were both San Jose Sharks previously — make strong debuts.
“Age has something to do with it because if you spend enough time in your career, you learn to value the opportunity. It’s hard to come by to play on a good team that has a chance,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “The older they get, the more they appreciate that.”
Vanecek pitched a 21-save shutout in his first game as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup, while Sturm was solid in 11:23 of ice time which included 2:03 on the penalty kill.
“I think the system is great for me and the way I play,” Sturm said. “I think it’s straight-line hockey. That’s kind of the way I’ve played my whole career.”
In their first post-deadline game, the Bruins earned only their second win in 10 games (2-6-2), a 4-0 road victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Two days earlier, the Bruins were locked in a tie game with the host Carolina Hurricanes before being dealt a painful last-minute loss, giving up an immediate goal off a turnover as defenseman Nikita Zadorov’s stick broke on a clearing attempt.
“If you keep playing the way we have the last couple of games, the bounces will go your way eventually. We got some (against Tampa) … and we were able to extend our lead,” Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean you can breathe easier (within a game), but it helps your psyche at times.”
That is exactly what the Bruins need. Besides Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo and Justin Brazeau were all dealt on Friday to the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs and Minnesota Wild, respectively. Trent Frederic became an Edmonton Oiler earlier last week.
Goaltender Jeremy Swayman — who stopped 26 shots en route to only the second shutout of Tampa Bay this season — knows the Bruins still have a job to do in chasing down a wild-card playoff spot, but seeing teammates go stings.
“It was the human side of things that I think was the biggest conversation that we all had (after the trades), and just understanding that even though it’s a business, it’s guys that you love,” Swayman said. “The fact that we can’t continue to play together, make memories and push through, is devastating.”
Against Tampa Bay, Cole Koepke scored twice on the left of newly acquired center Casey Mittelstadt and Vinni Lettieri, a trio of Minnesota natives.
“Three Minnesota guys coming full circle, playing together in the NHL,” Koepke said. “It’s pretty cool.”
–Field Level Media
