Playoff Brad Marchand is built different.
Marchand laid out Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk with a massive hit on Wednesday night. The Bruins and Panthers were playing Game 2 of their Round 2 NHL Playoff Series at FLA Live Arena.
With Boston leading 1-0 in the series, Marchand set the tone for Game 2 early in the first period by putting a devastating hit on the Panthers’ offensive leader.
The sequence unfolded in the neutral zone when Tkachuk skated across the Bruins’ blueline with the puck. As he attempted to cut toward the net with a dangle move, he was lined up and hit shoulder-to-chest by Marchand.
Check out Marchand’s hit on Tkachuk below:
Brad Marchand LEVELS Matthew Tkachuk 😱💥 pic.twitter.com/AS5KxYtaTk
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 8, 2024
Marchand is only listed at 5′ 9″ and 176 lbs, so we must give “the rat” props for sitting down the much bigger 6’2″, 206lbs Tkachuk. Bonus points for it being a clean hit with no retaliation. Tkachuk jumped right back into the play like nothing happened.
While it wasn’t as enormous in magnitude, Marchand’s hit on Tkachuk brings back memories of another massive playoff collision involving Tkachuk. Last season, Tkachuk floored Vegas forward Jack Eichel with an enormous hit during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Tkachuk dished out that jarring hit on the Vegas superstar but was the recipient of this hit from Marchand. The old saying “give a little take a little” certainly applies here.
Marchand isn’t a well-liked NHL player outside of Boston, but we’re giving him his flowers for his hit on Wednesday. Tkachuk has five inches and 30 pounds on Marchand, so this isn’t a typical “big player blows up smaller player” hit. This is basically the opposite instance of that scenario.
The Bruins had a 1-0 lead at intermission heading into the second period, as the Marchand hit provided the team with some energy and momentum.
It looks like Marchand’s offseason strength training with Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon is finally paying off.