How long would Brad Marchand have stood over the puck?
You couldn't help but wonder as the Bruins' star winger brought some comedic relief to Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Senators midway through the third period with a time-wasting move few players would ever even think about trying.
With 10:32 left in the third period and the Bruins holding onto a one-goal lead, Marchand entered the offensive zone and approached a loose puck, and then… just stopped. With three Senators back and no clear path to the net, the usually attack-minded Marchand decided not to attack and instead just stood there.
For some reason, the Senators also didn't play the puck. It appeared they thought it was a delayed offsides, which would've brought a faceoff outside the zone the moment Marchand made a move towards the puck. But Marchand wasn't offsides, and had nothing to lose in this situation. The Senators, meanwhile, let nine seconds run off the clock and wound up conceding a faceoff in their own zone.
The bizarre sequence wasn't exactly a turning point in the game or anything, but it was a classic Marchand moment -- annoying for the opponent, not entirely necessary, but ultimately beneficial for the Bruins.
It was part of a peak Marchand performance, one that also saw him score a goal, toy with Ottawa defenders throughout the night, and repeatedly pester new Senators captain (and newly paid) Brady Tkachuk.
The goal came on the power play early in the second and tied the game at one. Marchand set up on the doorstep and simply served as a backboard, allowing a David Pastrnak shot to hit him and bounce in. It was Marchand's eighth point in the last four games (one goal, seven assists) and kept him in the top five in the NHL in points per game this season (15 in 10).
The toying with defenders came consistently throughout the night. In the first period, he nearly pulled a Connor McDavid, weaving through four Senators before having the puck poked away at the last second. In the second, he had two sequences in the offensive zone where he put Nick Paul and then Josh Brown in a blender, turning them around multiple times with a series of shifty moves before setting up a teammate for a shot.
The jawing with Tkachuk also took place throughout the game, reaching its crescendo in the third with the two repeatedly exchanging words after the whistle, including Marchand yelling over to Tkachuk from the Bruins' bench.
Marchand was clearly feeling it Tuesday night, as he has been pretty much all season. The result was a little bit of everything that makes Marchand who he is.
