Hurricanes Downplay Brad Marchand-Vincent Trocheck Feud After Beating Bruins

It’s not often a war of words precedes a January game, but that’s what happened Tuesday ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes’ rout of the Boston Bruins.

Ahead of Tuesday’s game, Canes forward Vincent Trocheck was asked if he sees similarities between his game and Brad Marchand’s in that they both like to get under their opponents’ skin and play the agitator role. Trocheck cracked a rat joke before saying it was a fair comparison.

When Marchand caught wind of that comment, he posted their career numbers on a since-deleted Instagram post, saying that comparing Trocheck to him was like comparing a “Lambo to a Prius.”

The Hurricanes then beat the Bruins 7-1, scoring five goals in the first period, but they didn’t cite the Marchand-Trocheck war of words as reason for added motivation.

“I didn’t (see it). I heard guys talking about it, I didn’t really care,” Carolina rookie Seth Jarvis, who had a goal in the win, told reporters over Zoom. “We have a job to do and I love Troch and I love the way he plays and carries himself, so I’m going to back him regardless.”

Added veteran winger Derek Stepan, who also had a goal plus an assist: “No (I didn’t see it). I think our mindset coming into the game was in the right spot from the beginning. I don’t think any of that stuff added to the fire at all.”

It’s plausible Marchand didn’t know the full context of the quote when he made his Instagram post — as the graphic he re-shared from a media outlet of the Trocheck line didn’t contextualize the quote that well.

Either way, such feuds add a little juice to a matchup. Nothing wrong with that. And considering the Bruins and Hurricanes have met in two of the last three playoffs, maybe this will help build even more of a rivalry.