Bruins Denounce ‘Crazy’ Hit That Injured Brad Marchand

Pierre-Olivier Joseph got tangled up with Brad Marchand early in the first period of the Bruins’ 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the forward did not return for the final two periods Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.

Joseph got his stick into Marchand’s left skate, causing the Bruins captain to lose his footing. Joseph, already committed to making the hit, tried to pull up, but Marchand fell awkwardly head first into the boards.

After being down on the ice for several minutes, Marchand was assisted off the ice down the tunnel to the locker room. After the game, Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco told reporters he hadn’t spoken to Marchand yet and could not provide an update on the injury.

“I have to look at it again,” Sacco said of the play that Marchand was injured on. “I thought he was tripped into the boards, and there was a little bit of shove there too, which put him in a tough spot. I thought we should have at least been on the power play from there.”

David Pastrnak was on the ice when the injury occurred but didn’t see it play out in real time. However, the Bruins’ leading goal scorer helped his teammate off the ice.

“It’s never good to lose your captain,” Pastrnak told reporters after the game. “Especially a player like Marchy who never lays on the ice. That being a no-call penalty is crazy to me. I thought it was, especially if a player got injured, especially a guy like Marchy, who’s pretty tough. Hopefully, he’s going to be all right and be back soon.”

The Bruins were already skating with the man advantage, as Penguins star Evgeni Malkin was serving a two-minute minor penalty for hooking Mason Lohrei.

Lohrei answered by scoring his fourth goal of the season to put the Bruins ahead 2-0, and then the team responded by securing a much-needed two points.

“I thought we responded well,” Sacco said. “I thought we played hard today. … I think the group can exhale. We’ve had some games lately where we could’ve come out on the other side and we haven’t. We needed that win tonight. So, it feels good for the guys. They played hard today. They gutted it out at the end. … Certainly a big win, much needed for the morale of our guys.”

With the win, Boston ended its five-game losing streak and improved to 28-25-8. With Marchand’s status unknown and the quick turnaround for the Bruins matchup with the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, Sacco will more than likely insert Justin Brazeau, who was a healthy scratch in Pittsburgh, into the lineup. Puck drop from Xcel Energy Center is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game on NESN after an hour of pregame coverage.