After Friday’s game against the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand had some choice words for the concussion spotter that pulled him out of the game at an inopportune time.
Late in the second period, Marchand had an awkward collision with Rangers defenceman Jacob Trouba, but did not get pulled immediately. It wasn’t until the third period that the forward was given the signal to report to concussion protocol.
The Bruins were down 2-1 at the second intermission — poised for yet another comeback — and they were forced to go into the final frame without their top-line winger.
Of course, Marchand was slightly upset with the tardiness.
Marchand on getting pulled by the concussion spotter:
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) November 29, 2019
"That's embarrassing. They had 20 minutes to sit there and view the tape and call that in ... Guy up there is busy eating pizza and cheeseburgers and can't watch the game. Maybe next time he'll pull his head out of his butt" pic.twitter.com/Yh0acg2UoZ
Intermission snacks aside, the spotter did have all 18 minutes to decide whether or not to pull Marchand.
The Bruins winger exited the game with a bit of visual frustration.
Brad Marchand heads to the dressing room and doesn’t seem too happy pic.twitter.com/Hh1P3ByVM8
— Evan Marinofsky (@emarinofsky) November 29, 2019
In the end, the Bruins still earned the comeback victory — tying it with less than two minutes left in regulation before who else but David Pastrnak scored in overtime to seal the 3-2 win.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy explained the whole saga after the game.
“He gets hit at the end of the second period, and then they pull him at the start of the third,” Cassidy told reporters. “I thought it was fairly evident when he was hit, and then they decide to do it at the start of the third. That’s the only explanation I got. I don’t know why they wouldn’t do it in between periods; there is an 18-minute intermission.
In the end it didn’t matter and Marchand is cleared to play the archrival Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.
“But, yes, to answer your question, he was (fine),” Cassidy said. “He checked out fine. It’s a little frustrating for him especially when it happened at the end of the second period, so I didn’t like the timing of it at all.”
After the quote got its warranted reaction, Marchand took to Twitter to offer an apology for his words.
My emotions got the best of me after today’s game. I didn’t want to miss any shifts with us being down 2 to 1. I know the spotters are there to help us and I shouldn’t have take my frustrations out on them.
— Brad Marchand (@Bmarch63) November 30, 2019
Marchand was held without a point against the Rangers, but has an astronomical 18 goals and 43 points in 26 games.
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