Bruins
Pat Maroon's impact on the Bruins' bench is straightforward to see.
There's the sight of the veteran winger – his name is engraved thrice on the Stanley Cup – keeping his courtmates grounded with pats on the back and words of encouragement amid the chaos of playoff hockey.
And after all there may be the look of the 1.80 meter tall, 110 kilogram powerhouse throwing Toronto defender Timothy Liljegren onto the Boston bench on Saturday evening – and thus rousing the already offended TD Garden crowd.
Postseason grit and on-ice fighting spirit are two prized assets because the calendar turns to April.
And in his first playoff appearance in a black and gold sweater, Maroon showed why Boston wanted him on board for his or her latest Cup run.
“It's a lot of emotions that come our way, especially because the crowd is excited,” Jim Montgomery said of the tone Maroon sets on the ice. “The play he makes is what he does well – subtle plays that strengthen team play.
“And what he does really well is on the bench, and what we've noticed is that, similar to Nick Foligno, he has a lot of positive conversations and reinforces the game plan a lot.”
Based on Maroon's approach against the Maple Leafs in Game 1, the Bruins' strategy on Saturday was to land as many stripes as possible against their Original Six opponent. On an evening when Boston totaled 51 goals against Toronto, Maroon led the best way with six goals in his 11:28 of ice time.
Maroon's knack for taking out opposing fielders with a bone-crushing check or right hook is well documented. But the Bruins didn't add Maroon to their roster just as a physical deterrent.
“When he's on the ice, his ability to hold on to pucks, his ability to make plays, I think is incredibly underrated,” Montgomery said of Maroon's play before the beginning of this first-round series. “A lot of people talk about Maroon and his fisticuffs for lack of a better word. For me he is a hockey player. He won three cups because he is a hockey player.”
Maroon made a direct impact in his first shift during Saturday's game. While deflecting a puck near the boards, Maroon found himself within the crosshairs of Leafs squapper Ryan Reaves and 6-foot-5 blueliner Joel Edmundson.
Most NHL players probably would have thrown the puck into no man's land to avoid the warmth – or coughed up the cookie after being slammed into the glass. Of course, Maroon isn't built like most NHL players.
With two skaters drawn toward him, Maroon as an alternative turned the puck to his linemate Jesper Boqvist, who was skating away at the opposite end of the ice. With Reaves and Edmundson each attempting to bring down Maroon, the Leafs only had one skater back as Boqvist and Johnny Beecher pushed the puck toward Ilya Samsonov.
Seconds later, Beecher fired off Boqvist's feed, giving Boston a lead just 2:26 into the sport with the team's first shot of the night.
“The guy didn’t win three Cups for nothing,” Beecher said of Maroon. “He knows how to play the right way. He knows how to manage a game. He was great for me and Boqs, just slowing the game down and giving us a little advice here and there. He played an incredible game. Without him you can’t score.”
Maroon is probably not a top-six player at this stage of his profession. But it's no coincidence that the 35-year-old won three consecutive cups from 2019-21.
The Bruins are hoping he adds a fourth ring at his final stop in his NHL profession.
“He made a great play tonight on that first goal,” Marchand said of Maroon. “So he understands how vital the little plays in the sport are that may affect the consequence and he brings attention to that and holds the boys accountable.
“It's demanding for a person to come back at a certain time, behave like that and convey that confidence right into a room, but due to his experience he manages to do it. It makes a giant difference.”
image credit : www.boston.com