It was the game of the year in the NHL thus far, at least when it comes to entertainment: The Boston Bruins' 8-6 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 9, whose many fights, scrums and infractions produced a penalty summary slightly longer than "The Iliad."
No one's expecting 182 penalty minutes in tonight's rematch at Bell Centre. No one's expecting either goalie to leave his crease for more adorable play fighting. But Boston Bruins rookie Brad Marchand has done his part to pick at the scabs in this rivalry with some incendiary pregame comments about the Habs.
(Ed. Note: If the video doesn't play, click here to watch on CSNNE.)
From CSNNE and Joe Haggerty, some transcription of Marchand's comments:
"We have to not worry about them diving and chipping away at us," said Marchand. "We just have to play physical and things will be all right. They like to get in and shoot their mouths off, and then when you hit them they dive down easy. They give a lot of shots behind the play, back of the legs and stuff like that. Then when we run them they play it off like they didn't deserve it. It's the kind of team they are. They're pretty good at it."
[...]
"It's tough. It's very frustrating. When you have a team like we do that's big, tough and strong you don't want to take any of it," said Marchand. "I think that's kind of what happened in the last game. Guys weren't putting up with it, and I don't think [the Canadiens] wanted to back down. That's why things got so crazy. That's what happens when you want to play that kind of game."
Let's all remember this interview before Marchand is reprogrammed and we never get to hear lines like this again:
"They threw the first punch. They stir the pot and they got what they deserve. It wasn't our fault. They played into our hands. Whatever they're mad about they can suck it up. It's not our fault."
More from Big Bad Blog, including a P.K. Subban hit that kept Marchand out of the lineup for a few games. Faceoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET. First skirmish is scheduled for around 7:31 p.m. See you then.