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NHL Rink Wrap: Bloody good rally from Marchand, Bruins

NHL Rink Wrap: Bloody good comeback from Marchand, Bruins

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 10: Blood drips from the face of Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins after taking a high stick against the Washington Capitals during the first period of the game at Capital One Arena on January 10, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

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Top player from Monday in the NHL

Matt Grzelcyk, Bruins

Style-wise, Brad Marchand takes the cake for leading the Bruins after being bloodied. There’s substance, too. Both Marchand and David Pastrnak generated two-goal, one-assist performances in that impressive Bruins win.

Still, it’s pretty tough to argue with Grzelcyk as the NHL player of the night for Monday. Grzelcyk generated a goal and four assists in that game. A five-point performance after coming into the night with just eight points in 31 games? Impressive, and unexpected.

And, let’s face it, Marchand and Pastrnak will have more nights. Grzelcyk deserves a bit more credit than he receives, so maybe this arbitrary award provides some solace.

Highlights from NHL games on Monday

Being that there were three NHL games on the docket for Monday, let’s watch highlights from each contest.

First, Brad Marchand shook off being bloodied and the Bruins shook off a 2-0 deficit to clobber the Capitals. Along with the goals, you’d likely enjoy Patrice Bergeron saving a goal (because of course Patrice Bergeron saved a goal):

With 5:40 remaining in the second period, a Colin Blackwell goal gave the Kraken a 3-1 lead over the Avalanche. For a time, the Kraken had a crack at an upset. Then the Avalanche flexed their muscles, with Nazem Kadri assisting on the tying goal, then scoring the game-winner.

Finally, the Kings controlled the puck (39-23 shots on goal advantage) and handled the Rangers at home on Monday:

NHL takeaways from Monday

NHLPA files grievance on behalf of Evander Kane

As expected, Evander Kane cleared waivers after the Sharks took steps to terminate his contract. Also as expected, the NHLPA filed a grievance on behalf of Evander Kane.

NHL postpones Flyers - Hurricanes, Bowness fined, COVID updates


  • The NHL postponed Tuesday’s Hurricanes - Flyers game. (Among other reasons, it’s noteworthy that this will likely delay Keith Yandle in his ironman pursuit of Doug Jarvis.)
  • Following his stick-bashing outburst, the NHL fined Dallas Stars coach Rick Bowness $25K.
  • Monday brought the latest round of NHL players and coaches entering COVID protocol. Among the most prominent names were Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog and Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers. Several Coyotes entered NHL COVID protocol on Monday, too, including head coach Andre Tourigny. Rotoworld’s injury page is a helpful way to follow the news.

Bruins suddenly looking more explosive offensively

Generally speaking, when the Bruins have succeeded this season, it’s often with tight defense. (They allow just 2.59 goals per game, sixth-best in the NHL.)

Lately, they’ve been filling the net, though. The Bruins have scored 24 goals in their last five games, and 28 in their past six, winning all but one of those six contests.

Maybe most importantly, the Bruins aren’t just living off of “The Perfection Line” of Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak. Taylor Hall’s really heating up, as his two-assist night extended his point streak to six games (2G, 6A).

With Tuukka Rask’s situation unclear, maybe the Bruins can score so much, in won’t matter much who’s in net? (To be fair, Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have actually been pretty solid, too.)

Tuesday’s big story

Seth Jones returns to Columbus

In the grand scheme of things, the Blue Jackets may have been better off trading Seth Jones. If nothing else, it seems like they sold about as “high” as you can expect for a player who clearly wanted out.

Chances are, there were plenty of reasons why Seth Jones didn’t want to stick with the Blue Jackets long-term. Like Pierre Luc-Dubois and others, we can only speculate how much of it hinged on Columbus as a market.

But Blue Jackets fans might still feel slighted. At this point in the season, you won’t see many Blue Jackets or Blackhawks games drawing wider attention. Jones’ return to Columbus could be good theater, though.

NHL scores from Monday

Bruins 7, Capitals 3
Avalanche 4, Kraken 3
Kings 3, Rangers 1

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.