Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand found himself in hot water yet again on Tuesday. During a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marchand punched Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry in the head with his right fist during a scrum in front of the net.
On Wednesday, Marchand was suspended six games by the NHL for his encounter with Jarry. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced the ban after Marchand had an in-person hearing with the league earlier in the day.
Marchand’s prior history as a repeat offender contributed to his lengthy suspension.
“Players who repeatedly violate league playing rules will be severely punished for each new violation,” the Department of Player Safety stated in a video review of the altercation. “Marchand has been suspended seven times, and fined five times previously.”
Marchand was given a match penalty for his actions, but that wasn’t the end of the encounter with Jarry. While being restrained by a linesman, Marchand swung his stick at Jarry as he skated by.
In November, Marchand was suspended three games for slewfooting Vancouver Canucks defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He was also suspended in January 2018 for five games after elbowing New Jersey Devils forward Marcus Johansson, which was his most recent offense prior to the slewfooting incident.
The punching and swinging of his stick at Jarry wasn’t Marchand’s only interactions with the Penguins goaltender throughout the night. As the second period came to a close, Jarry lifted the puck onto his stick and looked like he was going to flip it to a Penguins fan in the crowd. However, Marchand skated by and knocked the puck off of Jarry’s stick, so he couldn’t toss it into the crowd.
Marchand currently leads the Bruins in points (49) and assists (28). In addition, Marchand also leads the team in penalty minutes with 62 on the season.
The veteran winger will begin serving his suspension on Thursday as the Bruins take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Marchand will be eligible to return to the lineup for Boston’s game against the Seattle Kraken on Feb. 24.
