Brad Marchand heating up after slow start
Through the first few weeks of the 2024-2025 campaign, the Boston Bruins have struggled to find consistency. While they have gotten off to an uneven start, one of their veteran stars, Brad Marchand, is finding his groove. The Bruins captain has been a points machine of late and made his presence felt.
In his last five games, Marchand has five points, including three goals. He now has 12 points this season, which ranks second on the team behind only David Pastrnak. As he has done throughout his career, the talented 36-year-old has continued to come through in clutch situations.
Over the last few weeks, Marchand has added two overtime goals to his resume. He has 21 overtime goals in his career, the most in franchise history, and ranks third all-time, trailing only Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. When the Bruins have needed someone to step up, Marchand has answered the call.
While the Bruins need more from their other stars, Marchand’s recent play has been a welcome sign. He only had two goals in October and has already surpassed that total this month with nine games left on the schedule. That is the type of production the Bruins expect from one of their best players of the last decade.
As the Bruins look to break out of their early-season funk, they will need Marchand to continue his recent play. They did not land a shot on net in the third period in their loss to the Senators on Sunday. The key for Boston will be being more aggressive, and Marchand believes they can start turning things around.
“Sometimes when you lack confidence or you’re overthinking, your execution is slow,” Marchand told reporters, according to The Athletic. “We need to get out of our heads. Stop thinking and start playing. It comes down to will and compete at this point. We need to understand we need to be better. That’s part of it.”
After two days off, Boston will be back in action on Tuesday night against a Blues start team that is also off to an uneven start. It will be a prime opportunity for the Bruins to snap out of their funk and for Marchand to continue his points barrage.