Since it's impossible to watch Canadiens' matches these days (darn no playoffs again), I'm watching pretty much every playoffs game. Last night, for a change, Brad Marchand acted like...well, Brad Marchand by doing this:
This morning, the NHL confirmed that there would be no disciplinary action against Marchand much to the ire of most fanbase. While I absolutely hate Brad Marchand, people need to calm down. This shot to the head wasn't that hard and didn't lead to any injury (as far as I know) if that gets a suspension, players might as just not touch each other anymore. Hockey is a contact sport and there's always been hits like that, especially in the playoffs. That's Marchand trying to get in the Blue Jackets' head and hopefully he won't be successful. For those who say that he at least deserved a fine, the fact is that the collective bargaining agreement prevents the imposition of any kind of significant fine.
I know, that's not his first "questionnable move", I mean the guy even has highlight videos of his dirtiest hits:
But in my mind this is how you deal with Marchand:
— Because It's The Cup (@CauseItsTheCup) May 1, 2019
You hit him during the play and hurt him that way. Want to hurt him more? Ignore his antics, focus on the fact that you are currently leading your series and kick his team out of the playoffs, THAT hurts.
Right now, Boston is struggling and can't seem to score so Marchand will of course stoop to the lowest levels to get Columbus off their game. This is what an agitator does. Most teams have players who will do that kind of thing…the Habs have Shaw, Domi and Gallagher (to a lesser extent lately) who will try to shake things up when things aren’t going our way, Corey Perry did it for the Ducks and the list is almost endless if you look to the past… Dino Ciccarelli, Dale Hunter, Darcy Tucker, Esa Tikkanen, Sean Avery, Claude Lemieux. You’d think that with the talent he has, Marchand would let his skills do the talking but the fact he, he is. He’s not as bad as he once was but, every once in a while, when things are not going his way and he can’t seem to score he goes back to his old ways.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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