Bruins rule captain Marchand out week-to-week amid playoff push
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Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, head coach Joe Sacco announced Tuesday.
Marchand was injured in Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing just 2:18 in the win. He did not dress as the Bruins suffered a 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday and missed Tuesday's gameday skate before the update was announced.
Marchand has 21 goals and 26 assists in 61 games in his 16th season with the Bruins. He has drawn trade speculation ahead of the deadline as a pending unrestricted free agent.
The 36-year-old winger was injured after being tangled up with Pierre-Olivier Joseph of the Penguins, with the Bruins expressing their displeasure with the incident post-game.
“I have to look at it again,” Sacco said. “I thought he was tripped into the boards, and there was a little bit of shove there too, which put him in a tough spot. I thought we should have at least been on the power play from there.”
“It’s never good to lose your captain,” forward David Pastrnak added. “Especially a player like Marchy who never lays on the ice. That being a no-call penalty is crazy to me. I thought it was, especially if a player got injured, especially a guy like Marchy, who’s pretty tough. Hopefully, he’s going to be all right and be back soon.”
Injuries piling up in Boston
The injury comes at a terrible time for the Bruins as the team fights for a wild-card spot in the crowded Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Bruins are also without centre Trent Frederic, who is week-to-week with an injury and star defenceman Charlie McAvoy, who has been out since undergoing shoulder surgery during the 4 Nations Face-Off. Like Marchand, Frederic is also a pending UFA.
UPDATE: The Bruins traded Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
Set to host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, Boston is two points out of a wild-card card spot with two more games played than the Detroit Red Wings.