Sometimes you just have to laugh. How else are you supposed to react to the ridiculous shorthanded goal Brad Marchand scored against the Capitals Thursday night?
He picks up the puck just inside his own blue and starts what turns into a two-on-two rush… not exactly the most dangerous situation in the world, right? Except then Marchand singlehandedly makes three different real live NHL players look like orange cones in a stickhandling drill.
Justin Schultz drops to the ice to try to take away the pass -- see ya. Marchand lets him slide right by. Alex Ovechkin is up next. That’s an elite offensive player in the uncomfortable position of playing defense -- no chance. Goalie Ilya Samsonov? Frozen in place as Marchand toe drags into the slot and quickly shifts to his backhand.
It was Marchand’s 30th career shorthanded goal and his second in as many games, the latest reminder that he is one of the most dangerous players in the NHL in every situation, and the latest reminder that he is playing some of the best hockey of his career this season.
After offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia -- which Marchand said had him feeling better than he has in years -- the 32-year-old star left wing is turning in a season that should absolutely have him in the discussion for both the Hart Trophy for league MVP (even if everyone else is battling uphill against Connor McDavid) and the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward (a nomination usually reserved for linemate Patrice Bergeron, but one that you could seriously argue Marchand is more deserving of this year).
In a year in which the Bruins have struggled to get anything resembling steady offense from much of the team, Marchand has been consistently great, even when his linemates (specifically David Pastrnak) have struggled or been shuffled around.
He has at least one point in 27 of the 35 games he’s played this season, and multiple points in 13 of them. Since returning from a two-game absence due to a false positive COVID-19 test, Marchand has posted an absurd seven goals and six assists in six games.
He now has 19 goals and 28 assists this season. His 0.54 goals per game and 1.34 points per game are both the best marks of his 12-year career. The only players with more points per game this year are McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Artemi Panarin.
So how is Marchand doing this at age 32? How is he seemingly still getting better? According to him, there’s an element of fear involved -- the fear of getting passed by younger players in an increasingly faster game.
“I think the biggest thing is, as you get older, you’re competing with a whole new generation of players,” Marchand said Thursday night. “When they come in, they’re so skilled, so talented, and the way that they can skate now, to be able to keep up with them, it’s a grind every day. I think that’s the biggest thing, is the fear of getting pushed out and losing your spot. I’ve had great mentors in this organization -- you look at guys like Zee [Zdeno Chara] and Bergy and before that Rex [Mark Recchi]. Just guys that have played a hard game for a long time. The way that they compete and take care of themselves off the ice, it translates to on the ice.
“At this level now, we’ve all played against each other for so many years, you’re just trying to learn. Different players have different tendencies, and that’s a big thing. Different guys you know aren’t going to finish a check on you, so maybe you can spin out a little bit easier. There’s different guys who maybe aren’t as quick and you learn how to expose them in different areas. As you get to know different players in the league, you start to put different plays together. It also helps when you’re playing with some of the best players in the world, so that’s always easy too.”
His shorthanded goals are the perfect example of learning and having a gameplan. Marchand knows players aren’t used to defending when they’re on the power play, especially forwards who are playing the point or being forced to backcheck, like Ovechkin on Thursday. As a highly skilled player himself, Marchand knows he has the advantage in that situation. So when other players might be content to just clear the puck down the ice and go off for a change, Marchand attacks.
“It’s definitely, again, something that you learn as you go,” Marchand said. “Our PK’s been one of the best penalty kills in the league for over a decade now. So when you have the defensive players we do, you’re going to get a lot of pucks out. A lot of pucks get flipped into the neutral zone. When you have forwards playing defense -- especially on the power play, guys tend to not backcheck. They’re lazier.
“They’re not used to playing that position. Obviously you’re trying to be smart about when you attack, but any time you can attack the forward on defense -- they’re uncomfortable back there. I’ve been in that position before. You don’t want to be skating backwards. You don’t want guys attacking. So just trying to take advantage of that.”
Marchand has stepped up as more of a leader off the ice this season with Chara moving on. But just as importantly, he has found a way to step up on it as well, bringing energy, determination and a whole heck of a lot of offensive production, all of which these Bruins have desperately needed.