Brad Marchand Not Worried About Bruins Slumping Top Line, But Admits He Needs To Be Better
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's only fitting after Bill Belichick waved Boston's rally flag before the Bruins' 3-2 overtime loss in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, that Brad Marchand borrowed his postgame approach from the Patriots head coach. With the loss just a few minutes old, Marchand was already on to Game 3.
"Just have to continue to stick with it and stay positive. The game is over and done with, worry about the next one, " Marchand told the throng of reporters after Wednesday night's loss.
The fact that Boston's top line -- dubbed the "Perfection Line" by some during the postseason -- is singing the Blues against St. Louis doesn't concern Marchand. They have just two points in the first two games of the Cup Final, including an empty-netter by the artist formally known as "The Little Ball of Hate," and have been on the ice for three of St. Louis' five tallies.
While his concern level is low, Marchand was pretty blunt about Boston's top line needing to play better with the series shifting to the Midwest -- and that starts with himself.
"Yeah, we need to be better. Personally, I wasn't good the last two games so we can't be playing like that," he admitted.
Marchand has 19 points this postseason, tied with Blues forward Jaden Schwartz for the second-most in the playoffs. But he had several miscues Wednesday night, one of which led directly to a St. Louis goal. Usually solid on the defensive end, Marchand left Schwartz to chase Vladimir Tarasenko up the right side of the ice. The problem was Zdeno Chara was already on Tarasenko's side of the ice, and Marchand's over-exuberance left Schwartz wide open, giving St. Louis an easy 2-on-1. Tarasekno cleaned up Schwartz's juicy rebound in front of Tuukka Rask to tie the game at 2-2 with 5:05 left in the first period.
Add in Marchand's four giveaways in Game 2, plus a big missed opportunity on a shorthanded 2-on-1 late in the second period, and it was an uncharacteristically bad night for the B's forward. It further compounded the issues that have plagued Boston's top line in the first two games.
Marchand doesn't think the struggles are being caused by anything the Blues are doing, and more of what he and Patrice Bergeron and David Pasrtnak aren't doing. They went through a similar slump in the opening round against the Toronto Maple Leafs, before returning to life in Game 6 of that series. Given they've cured their ills before, Marchand is confident they can do it again.
"We've had some opportunities. It's just, maybe a little cleaner on some details and we'll be back to normal," he said. "Taking care of little details, I think that's the biggest thing. It will come. That's how it is."
We all know Brad Marchand can score. We all know that Brad Marchand can make an impact on the game when he isn't scoring. He knows he needs to be better in both aspects, but isn't going to let it throw him off his game.
"It doesn't matter, it is what it is. Best of five series here," he said confidently. "If you told us at the start of the year we'd be 1-1 in the Final, we'd take that every time. Again, on to the next one."
