Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand decided to pick up his first major penalty of the 2018-2019 season while his team was getting blown out on Wednesday night, and he had a very simple explanation for why he decided to throw swings.
When Lars Eller scored in the third period to give the Washington Capitals a 7-0 lead, Marchand felt his celebration was excessive given the circumstances. Marchand then started a fight with Eller and landed two huge punches on him, and he later explained why he was so fired up.
Brad Marchand on why he fought Lars Eller: "His celebration was unnecessary. He took an angle in front of our bench and celebrated in a 7-0 game. So I just let him know."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) October 4, 2018
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy had no issue with Marchand sending a message in the first game of the season.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy on Marchand going after Eller: "That's good. He's a proud guy. I think Eller celebrated a little on a 7-0 goal. I think that's his prerogative and Marchy let him know that that's not acceptable. That's that and we move on."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) October 4, 2018
Marchand was assessed a 10-minute misconduct, 5 minutes for fighting, and 2 minutes for instigating. Even though he clearly got the best of Eller, opponents would probably rather be punched in the face by Marchand than fall victim to some of the antics we’ve seen from him in the past.
