Marchand Rips Concussion Spotter: ‘Too Busy Eating Pizza & Cheeseburgers’

BOSTON — Late in the second period of the Boston Bruins 3-2 comeback win over the New York Rangers on Friday, Bruins winger and leading scorer Brad Marchand was inadvertently elbowed in the head by New York defenseman Jacob Trouba. Marchand was visibly dazed but the concussion spotter didn’t summon him during play or during the 18-minute intermission.

Instead, the spotter waited until Marchand’s first shift of the third period to pull him away. A frustrated Marchand broke his stick on the boards in disgust at the inopportune timing.

“They had 20 minutes, 30 minutes to view the tape and sit there and call that it but they made me come out, in a 2-1 game as we’re starting to get momentum,” said an angry Marchand after the game. “I mean, the guy’s up there are too busy eating pizza and cheeseburgers and can’t watch the game, so maybe next time, pull his head out of his butt and watch the game.”

Marchand confirmed there were no ill effects from the hit in the third period or after the game.

“Skated into his elbow; I’m fine,” Marchand said.

Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy wasn’t thrilled either and couldn’t understand – on many levels – what the delay was from the spotter.

“This game’s on NBC. He gets hit at the end of the second period, and then they pull him at the start of the third,” Cassidy replied when asked if Marchand was checked by the spotter. “To me it’s, we’re trying to market our best players; I thought it was fairly evident when he was hit, and then they decide to do it at the start of the third. That’s the only explanation I got. I don’t know why they wouldn’t do it in between periods; there is an 18-minute intermission. But, yes, to answer your question, he was. He checked out fine. It’s a little frustrating for him
especially when it happened at the end of the second period, so I didn’t like the timing of it at all.”

Marchand went scoreless in 15 shifts and 19:43 on ice as his four-game points streak was snapped. he still leads the team in assists (25) and points with 45.