Mentally Stronger Marchand Doesn't Shrink In Big Games
BOSTON (CBS) -- Motor-mouth Bruins forward Brad Marchand might have just given his smack talking opponents some more verbal bullets for their battles.
After Marchand scored the tying goal in the closing seconds of regulation and the winning goal in overtime in a 3-2 victory against Philadelphia at TD Garden on Saturday, he revealed the key to his new found consistency this season is all about a change in both his mental and physical preparation he made last summer.
"I saw a sports psychiatrist a lot this summer and I just trained different a little bit," said Marchand, who leads the Bruins with 21 goals. "More working on my recovery and my cardio and stuff like that. I continued to do that throughout the season and it's definitely paid off."
Every player admits to working extra hard in the gym or on the track in the off-season. Few will admit to being vulnerable between the ears. But at the Bruins' suggestion Marchand revisited a relationship with the psychiatrist that had helped him a bit when he was a teenager, and he's not too shy to open up about the experience.
The thought of Marchand sprawled out on a couch recounting the nightmares he's had about P.K. Subban or Steve Downie might be worth a chuckle, but Marchand's search for help is no laughing matter. Anyone that watched the guy lose his mind a few times in the heat of the battle or go into an extended scoring drought (like 12 playoff games without a goal last spring) the past several seasons could tell that Marchand could benefit from a little extra guidance.
That counseling has obviously paid off because the rambunctious Marchand has had only one run-in with the NHL Department of Player Safety (a two-game suspension in January) this season and he's enjoying his best all-around consistent year on a team of mostly underachieving Bruins.
Marchand has now reached 20 goals for the fourth straight full NHL season. He scored 18 in 45 games in the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign.
It's hard to believe that with a resume like Marchand's, he can sometimes get down on himself. He certainly doesn't exhibit a lack of confidence when he's strutting through the dressing room with his chest puffed out and his beak in the air after practices and games. It seems his trash talking on the ice never takes a holiday.
While he's acting macho on the outside, though, sometimes he's down in the dumps on the inside. That's when the things he worked on with his mental health professional and the support of his longtime linemates, Patrice Bergeron and Reilly Smith, help Marchand get back on track. And this season he's been able to keep the grey days to a minimum.
"Yeah, you know, it's crazy in this game how if you miss a breakaway or even a penalty shot, those things can get in your head and you have to realize that you have to let it go," Marchand said. "If you feed off that you can start to force plays. Me and Bergy and Smitty have talked about it over the year. We found we were throwing pucks away for no reason, just because we weren't confident enough to hold onto it until there was a play to be made. Now it just seems like we have the confidence where when there's not a play we'll make something, create something, hold onto it until someone is there to support us. That's all mental toughness and in this game you got to be mentally tough and be able to battle through those things."
The Bruins followed Marchand's lead in the mental toughness department against the Flyers. Philadelphia scored the go-ahead goal with 4:30 remaining in the third period. With 19:41 elapsed, Bergeron won a faceoff during a 6-on-4 power play. Four seconds later, Marchand tipped in the game-tying goal off a shot from defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
Marchand's not a fixture on the Bruins' power play, but with the extra attacker coach Claude Julien called on Marchand to try to use his shot from the slot.
"He's always in the power play meetings," Julien said. "He's always a guy that we can plug in there and in that case with the sixth attacker, having a guy in front, and I know he was in front when Dougie shot it, but his position was to be in the slot so he could get that quick release off."
In overtime, Marchand took a pass from Maxime Talbot and cut across the slot left to right on his backhand. Marchand's shot deflected off Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto's skate and into the goal at 3:52.
Instead of the Flyers creeping within two or three points of the Bruins in the race for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia left town five points back. And the Bruins, for the time being, extended their lead on Florida to four points and their lead on Ottawa to five points. A loss in regulation to the Flyers would've been disastrous, but Marchand saved the day.
"I've always enjoyed the emotion of being out there in the last minute of a game or the last couple minutes down by a goal," Marchand said. "I think a lot of guys tend to thrive in that situation and I prefer to be out there. I like that challenge and I think any guy in the NHL enjoys that. I think that's why we're here, we're all very competitive. So I'm definitely happy they have the confidence to put me out there."
Marchand might hear some taunts about his big mental-health reveal. But they'll be worth it if he continues to ooze with confidence and lead the Bruins to more victories and eventually a playoff spot.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
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