Brad Marchand, Boston’s captain, will play his 1,000th NHL game on Tuesday night when the Bruins host the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Marchand is Boston’s second-leading scorer, with 25 goals and 48 points, trailing only David Pastrnak for the club lead. The 15-year-old veteran has six goals in his last eight games.
“It would be difficult to believe” surpassing 1,000 career games when he initially joined the Bruins in 2009-10, Marchand admitted. “As a young player, you don’t think very far ahead. Your main concern is getting here. Once you play, you realize how difficult it is to stay here. It’s pretty unique. Obviously, it doesn’t happen frequently, but I try not to think about it.
Despite Boston’s three-point lead in the Eastern Conference, coach Jim Montgomery has been left hunting for explanations after two poor performances in the last three games.
At the start of a seven-game homestand, the Bruins have lost 7-1 to Calgary and Washington, after winning 4-0 over NHL-leading Vancouver.
“If I had the solutions, I would have provided them to (the players). But it is unacceptable, and we will not allow it,” Montgomery stated. “Either we or the situation will change. That’s what everything comes down to.”
The 4-0 loss to Washington on Saturday was Boston’s first shutout of the season. Charlie Coyle, the top center, had his career-high 10-game point run broken.
With rookie forward Matt Poitras out due to shoulder surgery, the Bruins turned to Anthony Richard, whose 19 goals lead Providence of the American Hockey League. He had one shot on goal in 10:38 of ice time in his Bruins debut on Saturday.
“I thought (Richard) was one of the players that had jump, had tenacity on pucks,” the coach added.
The Lightning presently hold the third and final Atlantic Division playoff place, having broken a two-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory in Columbus on Saturday. The victory was their first since the All-Star break, but the ninth in a 12-game stretch.
“You can pick apart any game you want, but the bottom line is we needed these points,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper explained. “We got them and let’s move on.”
Brandon Hagel had a goal and two assists to extend his point run to six games, while Nikita Kucherov has points in eight straight and leads the NHL with 89 this season.
Haydn Fleury, who had been out for 14 games due to a hand injury, returned to help the Tampa Bay defense on Saturday. He finished with a plus-1 rating and three blocks in 22:07 of ice time.
Fellow blueliners Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak returned to the lineup after the All-Star break, but Sergachev underwent successful surgery after breaking his tibia and fibula in his return game against the New York Rangers last Wednesday.
“I believe that using that as an excuse will lead to problems for you. “And the group in here has never done that,” Cooper explained. “Perhaps there is a pity party that lasts for a night or so. But it’s simply not in our DNA.
Given Tampa Bay’s current position, it’s becoming late in the season early.
“I think the playoffs kind of start now for us,” Hagel remarked in an interview.
The Bruins and Lightning have split their two encounters this season. Trent Frederic scored two goals in Boston’s 7-3 home victory on January 6. Tampa Bay defeated visiting Boston 5-4 in overtime on November 20, with Hagel scoring the winning goal.
