Getty Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins and Niko Mikkola of the Florida Panthers
Visualize the scenario. Atlantic Division showdown. Boston Bruins versus Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena. High-stakes hockey between two Stanley Cup contenders. Anything could happen on the ice, and that’s exactly what went down in Florida on Tuesday, March, 26.
In a contest that saw the Bruins beat the Panthers 4-3, things got as heated as possible in the middle of the second frame when an altercation between Brad Marchand and Niko Mikkola emerged out of nowhere.
Marchand took over the Bruins captain role this season following the retirement of former “C” Patrice Bergeron. With great power comes great responsibility, and with larger NHL roles comes larger challenges–and challengers in this particular case.
That’s why Marchand, listed at 5-foot-9, found no issue in fighting Panthers’ giant Niko Mikkola, listed at 6-foot-5, on Tuesday.
The two players exchanged a few cross-checks, Marchand tried to land a couple of swings on Mikkola, and ultimately both fell to the ground as the Florida man quickly finished the exchange with a takedown.
The fight didn’t have a clear winner, but it took place when the Panthers were still ahead 2-1 and it flipped the script of the game entirely as the Bruins pulled off a come-from-behind victory thanks to a late goal by Bruins center Pavel Zacha with a little over two minutes left in regulation.
🎥 Coach Montgomery on the #NHLBruins 4-3 win over Florida: “I just liked the way that our team kept competing and we battled for each other. We were in every battle together, all five guys stuck together. That’s what we need.”
“You’ve got to win in the trenches if you’re going to win in the playoffs,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after the win over Florida on March 26. “I just liked the way that our team kept competing and we battled for each other,” he added.
“We were in every battle together, all five guys stuck together. That’s what we need.”
Bruins’ Head Coach Punishment, Marchand’s Fight Sparks Improvement
This game was crucial for both teams, each with 97 points at the start of it. It was probably even more important for a Bruins team that found itself riding a two-game losing streak against the still NHL-best New York Rangers and a lesser opponent in the Philadelphia Flyers.
Following the loss against Philly, coach Montgomery lost no time letting his players know how upset he was, as documented by Heavy’s Emma Lingan on March 25.
Just got a “WAKE THE F%&$ UP” from #NHLBruins Coach Jim Montgomery as he stops practice 5 minutes in and makes his team skate!
And he continued to quite vocal when they resumed practice.
“Wake the (expletive) up!” was heard at the Bruins practice facility the day after the loss against the Flyers.
“I hated the way we finished the game in Philly,” Montgomery told reporters after practice.
“Every day it’s our job to be sharp, to be on the ball, and we weren’t today,” Marchand said when asked about his coach’s message after that practice. “It was a great reminder from Monty that expectations are high here, completely warranted, and especially with the games we have coming up and where we’re at in the season. We need to be dialed in every day.”
It cannot be argued the tantrum, along with Marchand’s willingness to put on a literal fight, worked wonders for the Bruins.
Not only did Boston arrive at Florida and leave the peninsula with its first win in three games, but they have now flipped their losing ways and turned them into a 2-1 positive record entering April after losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning but beating the Washington Capitals on Saturday, March 30.
Marchand, Zacha, and David Pastrnak Are Leading the Boston Bruins
The game-winning goal scored by Zacha against the Panthers proved, once more, that the forward line including him, Marchand, and David Pastrnak is the most lethal offensive unit deployed by the Boston Bruins this season.
According to data tracked by Dobber Hockey, the Marchand-Pastrnak-Zacha line boasts the best plus/minus (6) among forward lines with at least 125 minutes of shared time on ice through the end of March. The line also leads all other combinations (without regard to TOI) in goals scored with 14.
Entering April, Pastrnak leads all Bruins with 102 points followed by Marchand (63), with Zacha ranking fourth having 51 points in just 71 games played compared to his teammates’ 75.
On Saturday’s win against the Capitals in a contest that came down to a shootout, the Bruins prevailed beating the Caps 3-2. The victory earned Boston two more points on the season and finally allowed the Bruins to crack the 100-point barrier.
The Bruins are sitting at 101 points, tied with the Carolina Hurricanes and just two points behind the Stars (103) and three behind the Rangers (104).
Boston is also one of seven NHL teams to have clinched a postseason berth already and it leads the Atlantic Division by two points over Florida (99) entering Monday’s slate of games.
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