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Brad Marchand turns it on with five-point day

January 15, 2017, 10:46 AM ET [59 Comments]
Ty Anderson
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSSArchiveCONTACT
It's not an overly complicated formula: when Brad Marchand is rolling, the Bruins are rolling.

Back in Boston after a road trip that came with five of a possible eight points (a trip that the Black and Gold actually felt could have gone better), the Bruins rallied against an early deficit and hammered Michal Neuvirth and the Flyers for six goals and drew back even on home ice.

It was an even game from many of the B's, who had goals from five different scorers, but it was Marchand that stood out above the rest, with his second five-point game of the season.

It all began with a shorthanded goal that saw Marchand capitalized on a misplay by Sean Couturier and outrace Ivan Provorov for Marchand's 21st career shorthanded goal.

"I think right now, he’s feeling it, and that’s the word I use when I talk about Brad [Marchand], is that when he’s feeling it, he makes a lot of good things happen, and it hasn’t always been like that this year," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "But now he’s starting to heat up, and that’s a good sign. That’s one of the key traits that he has, is anticipation and knowing when to make those moves that he’s been making, and in less high-risk situations. So, it’s nice to see him coming around that way."

The shorthanded tally not only brought the Bruins back even when it very well could have been 2-0 given Philadelphia's power play prowess, but also moved the 5-foot-9 winger into sole possession of third place on the B's all-time shorthanded goals list and out of a tie with Phil Esposito and Don Marcotte. And now only Derek Sanderson (24) and Rick Middleton (25) have scored more shorthanded goals in Bruins history than Marchand has for the club.

It also moved Marchand within one goal of a tie with Rick Nash and Antoine Vermette for the second-most shorthanded goals among active players -- and Marchand has played almost 500 fewer games than both Nash and Vermette -- and 12 away from active leader Marian Hossa.

But Marchand wasn't done.

He would hit Torey Krug up with a perfect saucer pass for Krug's third goal in as many games, came through with a secondary assist on the Zdeno Chara goal, and added the empty-net dagger to make it a three-goal victory for the Bruins by the final horn.

With the five-point effort, Marchand's run improved to seven goals and 14 points over the last nine games, and made him the first Bruin to have multiple five-point games in the same season since Jason Allison accomplished the feat in 1997-98.

"That’s how hockey goes sometimes – pucks bounce your way and other times they don’t, you know, it is nice when things are going your way," Marchand said of his hot streak. "You feel a little more confident, you’re able to do things that you’re a little nervous to try at different times. But again, I think our team’s playing really good hockey right now and everyone’s just playing good."

The Bruins are back at it tomorrow afternoon against the Islanders.
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