Stop me if this sounds familiar: Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron combined for a shorthanded goal Sunday.
It came midway through the first period, with Connor Clifton in the box for a double-minor high stick (his first of two such penalties on the day). Marchand broke up a Capitals zone entry, then took off up ice to chase down Jarred Tinordi’s clearance.
Marchand went in hard on the forecheck and forced a turnover by John Carlson, sending both the puck and Marchand’s stick bouncing out to the front of the net. Bergeron collected the loose puck and calmly flipped a backhander past goalie Vitek Vanecek.
It was yet another example of the attack mindset those two have even when they’re shorthanded, and it was the third shorthanded goal scored by one of them just in the last two weeks, following Marchand’s two in back-to-back games against the Flyers and Capitals on April 6 and 8.
That’s impressive enough as is, but the numbers get sillier and sillier the bigger the time frame you look at.
Let’s start with this season. Marchand and Bergeron each have three shorthanded goals this season now. Only Columbus’ Cam Atkinson (4) has more. Their six combined shorthanded goals this year are more than every other team except for the Canadiens, who have eight. Marchand’s six shorthanded points this season lead the NHL, while Bergeron’s four are tied for second.
In just over 60 minutes with Bergeron and Marchand on the penalty kill this season, the Bruins have now scored six goals and allowed six. Needless to say, any pair of players breaking even on the PK over a 43-game stretch is pretty ridiculous.
Want to go back a few years? Over the last three seasons, Marchand’s 16 shorthanded points (7 goals, 9 assists) are the most in the NHL. Bergeron’s 12 (8 goals, 4 assists) are second. Their combined 15 shorthanded goals since the start of the 2018-19 season are more than 12 whole NHL teams.
How about their career numbers? According to the NHL, Marchand and Bergeron have now combined on 29 shorthanded goals on which one has assisted the other. Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri with the Oilers (41) and Don Luce and Craig Ramsay with the Sabres (31) are the only pairs of teammates that have ever combined for more.
The @bostonsportsinf Twitter account also dug up this factoid: with his goal Saturday, Bergeron joined Marchand in a club of just 14 players ever who have scored 300 career goals, 50 career power-play goals, 20 career shorthanded goals, and have a career plus/minus better than plus-200.
The Bruins went on to win Sunday's game 6-3, with Marchand registering two goals and two assists on the day (becoming the ninth Bruin ever to reach 700 points with the franchise in the process) and Bergeron two goals and an assist. And the offensive outburst all got started with that shorthanded goal.
It’s going to be a long time before we see another pair of teammates who are this dangerous on the penalty kill. Enjoy it.