Brad Marchand beats Leafs, after mourning loss in his family

According to a report from Boston Bruins insider Amalie Benjamin, Bruins captain Brad Marchand is mourning the loss of his grandmother Frances O'Leary who passed away on Friday.

From Benjamin:

Obviously, Marchand ended up scoring the game winning goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday evening, knowing all the while that his Grandmother was looking down on him. In case you missed it, here's how that played out on Saturday.

Alright... just settle down there, Jack Edwards.

In all seriousness though, thoughts and prayers go out to the Marchand clan at this difficult time.

In his first campaign as Bruins captain, Marchand has performed admirably. It can't be easy replacing a legend like Patrice Bergeron and, before him, Zdeno Chara. Marchand has picked up the mantle from a long list of fantastic Bruins captains and has done a great job thus far.

I'll be honest that I was skeptical when the Bruins announced Marchand as Bergeron's replacement as captain. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate that Marchand is a very skilled player, but he has never really struck me as "captain material." To be fair though, Marchand has cleaned up certain aspects of his game the past few seasons to the point where... well... at least he's not licking his opponents anymore.

The Bruins are trudging right along with Marchand as captain, as well. While many predicted that the team would have a huge drop off following their record setting 135 point season in 2022-23, the team has actually held the line pretty firmly. I don't suspect they'll get anywhere near their points total of last season, but the team should be comfortably in a playoff position come the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs next April.

As for Marchand, he has a stellar 11 goals and 23 points in 24 games to start the season. At 35 years old, the Halifax, Nova Scotia native just continues to produce at a near point per game pace. Not bad for a pesky rat with haters around the entire hockey world.