Brad Marchand, Bruins make it clear that cheap shots on Patrice Bergeron will not be tolerated

BOSTON -- "Obviously," a smirking Jake DeBrusk said inside a victorious Bruins locker room, "any time Bergy gets hit like that, we're gonna react."

That much, as DeBrusk stated, was quite obvious on Thursday night, when the Bruins -- and specifically Brad Marchand in this case -- let it be known that cheap shots on Patrice Bergeron will not be tolerated. And they certainly won't be tolerated on Boston ice.

In this case, it was Rem Pitlick who was the recipient of this harsh message, after the Montreal centerman delivered a hard and high hit to the head of an unsuspecting Bergeron in the first period of Thursday's game at TD Garden. The hit knocked Bergeron onto his backside, leaving the Bruins captain trying to reach to grab Pitlick before he could get away. Pitlick did skitter away, but he didn't get far, as he was met with a literal flying ball of hate in the form of Brad Marchand.

After seeing the hit, Marchand made a beeline for Pitlick, tackling him to the ground before delivering a series of punches.

Normally, it's a violation of the hockey code to punch a downed player. But in this instance, Pitlick seemed to have relinquished his rights to such protection by delivering that hit in the first place. That's at least how the Bruins saw it.

"You don't hit our captain late," B's head coach Jim Montgomery said. "That was a three-second late hit. And I liked -- I loved the fact that Marchand made the guy pay a price for doing that."

David Pastrnak, who scored his 49th goal of the season in the 4-2 Bruins win, was asked about Marchand being a good teammate, as the veteran winger passed up an empty-net opportunity in an effort to try to get Pastrnak his 50th. Pastrnak, though, shifted the attention to the Pitlick play.

"What I would point out is him sticking up for Bergy. It's obviously outstanding," Pastrnak said. "It's been kind of our motto in the team, and it's great to see when a guy like Marchy sticks up for our captain. And it definitely gets going everybody on the bench."

Prior to that moment, the game between the historic rivals had featured no penalties. But a double-minor for roughing was assessed to Marchand and an interference penalty was assessed to Pitlick, kicking off a penalty-filled, animosity-fueled matchup between the two teams. Boston fourth-liner A.J. Greer was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking Mike Hoffman in the face before a neutral zone faceoff late in the first period, part of 25 penalty minutes for Boston. The Canadiens, meanwhile, racked up 14 penalty minutes on seven minor penalties.

That madness included a wrestling match between Charlie McAvoy and Jake Evans after the latter sprayed goaltender Jeremy Swayman after a puck was covered. Evans ended up taking a roughing penalty and a slashing penalty in the fracas.

Fortunately for all involved, the physicality and intensity didn't lead to any serious injuries ... though Mike Hoffman's face might argue otherwise. And fortunately for everyone watching, the two teams will get one last chance to meet up on the final day of the regular season. Whether the Bruins will be playing with this level of chippiness -- and whether the stars will be playing at all -- isn't known just yet.

For now, the Bruins have a couple of poster-worthy images of Brad Marchand.

And they have the satisfaction of getting the word out that opponents can take liberties with Patrice Bergeron at their own risk.