Brad Marchand scores 400th goal but doesn't want to think about it too much

BOSTON -- As a relieved Brad Marchand skated back to the Bruins' bench with a smile on his face after finally scoring the 400th goal of his career on Thursday night, he simulated throwing a monkey off his back. It's a motion he's made before after breaking a scoring slump, and considering this one involved such a major milestone, the 10-game gap between goals felt a little longer for the Boston captain.

"Yeah it was good. Lately, trying not to think about it, but obviously it was kind of an elephant in the room," Marchand admitted after the Bruins' 4-1 win in Carolina. "Nice to get it. Don't have to worry about it anymore. Just, it's nice that we had a really good game to follow it up, and big road trip, so it was a good night."

Marchand's goal was the first of three in the first period for the Bruins, who finished a six-game road trip against playoff teams and/or contenders with a 4-2-0 record.

Despite the milestone finally being reached, Marchand seemed most happy to not have to think about it anymore.

"Not really," Marchand said when asked if he had time to reflect on the accomplishment. "I mean, I probably won't. I think it's, I've said this before but I try not to think about things that I've kind of done while I'm still playing. There's much larger goals and hopefully there's still plenty more. So I'll reminisce at the end."

While Marchand wasn't eager to take the wide view on his career, head coach Jim Montgomery was.

"It's an amazing accomplishment to get 400 goals in this league," Montgomery said. "It speaks about longevity, it speaks about your ability to make a tremendous amount of plays over the course of your career. And there's a guy that, you know, has been doubted his whole life, and all he keeps doing is putting out any doubts in anyone's mind of how great of an athlete he is and great a hockey player and Bruin he is."

David Pastrnak, who scored the 348th goal of his career on Thursday night, was happy for his teammate and longtime former linemate.

"It's a huge accomplishment. He's a heck of a player, so we are happy for him," Pastrnak said. "Well-deserved, hopefully many more."

And goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who stopped 28 of 29 Carolina shots to earn his 25th win of the season, said he's enjoyed his perspective on Marchand's success.

"Aw man, just so happy for him. He's worked so hard. I couldn't be luckier to be a part of it, seeing what he does every day on and off the ice, being a true leader," Swayman said. "He's one of those guys that doesn't have to preach. He just, you do whatever he does, and you're gonna be OK. So extremely happy for him and grateful that he's on our team and not playing against us every night."