Make that 400 goals for the captain. After failing to score in 10 consecutive games, Brad Marchand finally hit No. 400 in a 4-1 triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on Thursday night.
It was an impressive win for the B's, who took down one of the NHL's hottest teams to improve to 45-17-15 and increase the lead in the Atlantic Division to four points. And it was a milestone night for Marchand, who has played his entire career in Boston.
“Lately, I tried not to think about it. Obviously, it was kind of an elephant in the room, [so] nice to get it,” Marchand said about taking a full 10 games to reach 400 tallies, according to NHL.com's Kurt Dusterberg.
“It’s nice that we had a really good game to follow it up. I try not to think about things that I’ve done while I’m still playing. There’s much larger goals, and hopefully there’s still plenty more. I’ll reminisce at the end.”
Marchand became the fifth player in franchise history to score 400, per Dusterberg, joining Johnny Bucyk (545), Phil Esposito (459), Patrice Bergeron (427) and Rick Middleton (402).
He scored the goal in style, too, receiving a stretch pass from linemate Morgan Geekie and breaking in alone before beating Frederik Andersen backhand five-hole.
After a devastating Round 1 exit at the hands of the Florida Panthers in 2023 — and a roster overhaul in the offseason –the Bruins still look like one of the league's elite teams heading into the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They proved they can hang with the best teams in the Eastern Conference after convincingly beating a Canes team that had won eight of 10 entering Thursday's tilt.
And in 2024, there will be a new captain leading the Bruins into the postseason.
Brad Marchand captaining playoff Bruins for 1st time
Patrice Bergeron was wearing the ‘C' when the Bruins won the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, as well as the other two trips he made with the franchise in 2013 and 2019.
But with the surefire Hall of Famer now retired, the burden falls to Marchand in 2024. And he led the way on Thursday night.
“I’m really pleased with tonight’s win,” explained Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery. “In the first period, we executed really well. We caught them on some odd-man rushes and made some high-end plays, led by our captain.”
With the victory, Boston remains four points ahead of Florida with five games remaining. The Panthers crushed the Ottawa Senators 6-0 on Thursday to stay competitive for the division crown.
Jeremy Swayman was excellent in the winning effort, making 28 saves to win his third game in a row and fourth in five tries.
“The guys in front of me are doing a great job of boxing out and allowing me to see the first shot,” said the netminder afterwards, per Dusterberg. “And I’m just trying to do my job with putting rebounds in good areas.”
The Bruins are again in the hunt for a second consecutive President's Trophy, with just a point separating them from the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers.
Brad Marchand and co. will continue the chase in a critical tilt against the Panthers at TD Garden on Saturday.
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