Since the Bruins pulled David Pastrnak from their top line, placing him on the second line with Taylor Hall and Erik Haula, things have been clicking for them, especially with their top two lines.

But now, the Bruins depth is about to be severely tested as the Bruins will be without Brad Marchand who has already been ruled out for Saturday’s contest with the Winnipeg Jets, stemming for an injury suffered in Thursday’s thrilling 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals.

“Brad’s going to miss a little bit of time,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy.

Marchand was injured in the second period Thursday after a hit behind the Capitals net by Garnet Hathaway. Hathaway was called for interference, but the Bruins were not too pleased with the hit.

After a brief trip down the tunnel, Marchand tried to return after intermission, but was later ruled out for the remainder of the game. Marchand was seen on the bench in pain while icing his shoulder.

"I didn't like at all. The official right in front of it didn't call it. The trail official called it. I'm not sure why the guy watching it didn't,” said Cassidy.

“[Hathaway] hit a guy in the numbers in a vulnerable spot. Seen that from that player in the past too, so I didn't like that one at all. When it comes to Marchy sometimes they move in, but in this particular case it seemed like a vulnerable spot against the boards."

This isn’t the first time Hathaway has gotten under the skin of the Bruins, other issues in the past have popped up on the Bruins radar.

“He’s that kind of player,” said Pastrnak who scored twice in the win. “We saw him a couple games ago. I didn’t like it, obviously. Our best player and he took a run at him. I think it was dirty.”

Marchand wasn’t the only Bruin to leave the game and not return. The Bruins lost Anton Blidh early in the game after taking a massive, but very much clean, hit from old friend Tom Wilson.

“Wilson hits hard. We’ve seen that some clean, others not clean. I didn’t mind that hit. I thought he went for the chest. I thought he kept his elbows down,” Cassidy said.

“From my vantage point, I didn’t see anything other than a hard hit. Obviously wish Anton had just caught him coming into his view a half-second early so he could protect himself.”

Down two left wingers for at best, Saturday, the Bruins will have some line shuffling to do. DeBrusk was bumped to the top line after Marchand left. He’ll likely be there again Saturday.

It’s a golden opportunity for DeBrusk, and hopefully a moment that fast tracks a DeBrusk trade because you know, he still wants to be traded.

Shortly after what we thought was Patrice Bergeron’s first goal of the night, the goal was changed and awarded to DeBrusk.

A reward for what was one of his more active nights of the season.

"Good for him for making some plays in crunch time. I'm happy for Jake that he came through. Any time he can help the team win, that's a positive,” said Cassidy.

"Other guys got the opportunity to step up and again, an opportunity for DeBrusk to get some extra minutes, and he came through for us.”

The Bruins aren’t built to sustain this much success without Marchand in the lineup. They’ve won nine of 11 and will hit the road for three straight games next week following Monday’s home contest with the Ducks.

Here comes more adversity, how will the Bruins respond?

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