Brad Marchand Adds To Bruins Franchise Record With 28th Shorthanded Goal
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Scoring goals while skating shorthanded is a rather difficult challenge. Brad Marchand makes it look quite easy.
The tenacious left winger provided a reminder of that unique ability on Tuesday night against the Penguins, when he took off up the ice and sent defenseman Kris Letang spinning in circles before firing a wrister past Tristan Jarry for the first goal of the game.
The goal was the 28th shorthanded tally of Marchand's career, extending his own franchise lead over Rick Middleton, who scored 25 goals while shorthanded.
BRUINS ALL-TIME LEADERS IN SHORTHANDED GOALS
1. Brad Marchand 28
2. Rick Middleton 25
3. Derek Sanderson 24
4. Don Marcotte 21
5. Phil Esposito 20
5. Jerry Toppazzini 20
7. Patrice Bergeron 18
7. Ed Westfall 18
9. Bobby Orr 16
9. Brian Rolston 16
9. Steve Kasper 16
9. Gregg Sheppard 16
Marchand now has at least one shorthanded goal in all 11 of his full NHL seasons, dating back to 2010-11, with a career high of five set that year and matched again in 2013-14.
Marchand has quite a long way to go on the NHL's all-time leaderboard, where he ranks tied for 28th (in a group that coincidentally includes Todd Marchant, the man responsible for the butchering of the pronunciation of Marchand's name early in his career.) But he's the leader among active players, with eight more shorties than the second-ranked Frans Nielsen. And in terms of this era, Marchand is tied for having the second-most shorthanded goals since play resumed following the 2004-05 lockout, with two fewer than Marian Hossa.
His knack for creating offensive opportunities on the penalty kill showed up later in the game, too, when he barreled into the offensive zone, delivered a body hit, found the puck and set up Patrice Bergeron for a Grade A chance:
The scoring, of course, is the least important component of penalty killing, and Marchand remains a part of the NHL's No. 1 PK unit. Yet when the opportunity arises, there's nobody better at seizing them than Marchand.
"It's just the way it plays out. I mean, you can go a whole year without getting one chance, and you can get a couple in a couple games. So it's just opportunistic," Marchand said. "Sometimes it bounces your way and you get that chance, and sometimes it doesn't."
