Brad Marchand could not physically help his team on the ice in Game 5, missing his second-straight game for the Boston Bruins with an upper-body injury.
Boston’s captain left Game 3 and had to watch from a distance as his team fell behind 3-1 in the series. Marchand did not leave his team’s side, making the trip to Florida to energize his teammates pregame, help analyze the game in real time and provide extra motivation to force Game 6 against the Panthers.
The Bruins did just that with a 2-1 win, feeling the energy of their captain in victorious fashion.
“Having him around is awesome in any capacity,” Charlie McAvoy shared, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “His presence for us means a lot. Everything that he carries and what he means to this team. Having him on this trip, he’s in there during the game. He’s constantly giving us life, giving us positivity. That means a lot. We had his jersey hung in his stall tonight. We know what he means to this group. We didn’t say die. We wanted to see this thing go back to Boston and give him a chance to get right and hopefully be back.”
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“As a professional athlete, not being able to play and watch the game, sometimes as a player, you don’t recognize how freaking nervous you are,” David Pastrnak said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I talked to him. It’s no fun to watch your team go into battle. He was amazing. He came in between every period. He gave a little quick speech. He was there for us. We obviously talked and wanted to get him back in the series. Keep extending the series. Very proud of our team and him, as well.”
The Bruins hope to have their captain back, though his status remains unknown, for Game 6 where Boston hopes to keep the series rolling in front of the hometown crowd.
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