BOSTON — When Brad Marchand takes the ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the TD Garden Tuesday night he’ll be joining an exclusive club of Bruins to have donned the spoked-B for 1,000 games.
A third-round draft pick and the 71st overall selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, few prognosticators would have believed Marchand could eventually join the ranks of the couple hundred players who have played 1,000 NHL games.
Upon making his NHL debut during the 2010 season, the under-sized Marchand quickly established himself as an agitator and instigator on the ice, earning himself the moniker “Little Ball of Hate.”
While ‘Marchy’ quickly became one of the NHL’s most infamous pests, it was his scoring output that truly drove teams over the edge- and his five goals in the last five games of the 2011 Cup Final that pushed the Bruins ton their first title since 1972.
As Marchand hit his late 20s the ball of hate developed into one of Boston’s surest scoring sources, netting at least 28 goals in each season from 2016 to 2022. Since the 2011 season, only Alexander Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and John Tavares have scored more goals than #63.
The 1,000-game benchmark is just the latest in a season of milestones for the 35-year-old left winger. Marchand, who is serving in his first year as team captain already registered his 900th career point, moved into 5th place on the Bruins’ all-time goals list and all-time points list and set a team record his 11th straight 20-goal season.
Marchand’s former teammates and 2011 Stanley Cup champions Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci were the last two Bruins to reach the 1,000-game milestone, doing so in 2019 and 2023 respectively.
The full list of Bruins to have played 1,000 games is as follows:
- Ray Bourque: 1,518 games played
- Johnny Bucyk: 1,436
- Patrice Bergeron: 1,294
- Don Sweeney: 1,052
- David Krejci: 1,032
- Wayne Cashman: 1,027
- Zdeno Chara: 1,023
- Brad Marchand: 1,000
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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