Bruins
“Overtime is a big opportunity and you gotta earn that right. It’s part of the game.”
The Bruins were in desperate need of a spark in overtime against the Senators on Saturday.
But even with Boston reeling after coughing up a two-goal lead to Ottawa in the third period, Brad Marchand didn’t touch the ice in the extra frame at Canadian Tire Centre.
Without Marchand — one of the few proven scorers on Boston’s roster (16 goals this season, 21 career overtime goals) — the Bruins couldn’t bury another puck past Ottawa goalie Leevi Merilainen en route to a crushing 6-5 shootout loss.
It was an ugly result for the Bruins, who held a 5-3 lead with under four minutes to go in regulation. To further twist the knife, the loss bumped Boston out of the playoff field for the first time since the end of November.
Speaking after the loss, Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco didn’t offer much about the decision to keep Marchand off the ice in crunch time — confirming that the Bruins captain was not injured, before adding that it was a coach’s decision.
Speaking on Sunday at Warrior Ice Arena, Sacco once again declined to elaborate on what exactly led to him benching Marchand after the Sens tied Saturday’s game.
“It was just an in-game decision that I made,” Sacco said. “Marchy and I are on the same page. So I know that he’ll be — knowing Marchy and the way he prepares and the way he works, he’ll be ready to go tomorrow [vs. San Jose].
“He’s a true pro, so he’ll be ready to go. He’s dialed in all the way, 100 percent. It was just any game decision that we made.”
As indicated by the final score, Saturday’s showing was far from a stellar showing defensively from Boston — with Marchand included.
While the 36-year-old captain was far from the only Bruins skater to commit a defensive gaffe on Saturday (multiple failed clears from Elias Lindholm set up Ottawa’s fourth goal), Marchand did fail to pick up Josh Norris in coverage just seconds before Norris beat Jeremy Swayman to force overtime.
Despite the optics that come with being stapled to the bench, Boston’s captain accepted the punishment when asked of Sacco’s decision Sunday.
“He’s going to make the decision based on how he feels these guys are playing each night. So, I get it,” Marchand said. “It’s something I have to do better … My details weren’t good enough. In a game like that, they have to be spot on. And obviously, overtime is a big opportunity and you gotta earn that right. It’s part of the game.”
The 2024-25 season has already been a tumultuous campaign for the Bruins. But these last few months have been particularly eventful for Marchand in his second campaign as Boston’s captain.
Be it Marchand snuffing out sports radio talk about an icy relationship with David Pastrnak, getting shoved by Jim Montgomery after an on-ice miscue earlier this season, or this recent benching — and the Bruins winger has had to navigate several distractions in an already trying year.
Marchand and the Bruins will look to get back on track Monday when they host the San Jose Sharks in a matinee matchup at TD Garden.
“Obviously we didn’t get the outcome that we should have had. … There’s nothing you can do about at this point, rectify a couple things and get prepared for the next one,” Marchand said. “That’s all we can do. We’ve got to continue to build.
“Still a lot of time left here, and can’t get caught up in what’s happened. You got to look at things that we got to do better, and work on that and get ready to the next one.”
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