Thursday night was a painful one at TD Garden. After Bruins forward Anton Blidh was knocked out of the game in the first period by a hard (but clean) hit from Capitals forward Tom Wilson, Brad Marchand suffered an upper-body injury and left the game in the second period on a hit from behind by Garnet Hathaway.
The hit came a little under seven minutes into the second when Marchand went into the corner to play the puck. Hathaway lined Marchand up, seeing nothing but his numbers the whole way, and finished a blatant hit from behind that buried Marchand hard into the boards.
Marchand went down the tunnel to the locker room, briefly returned to the bench, and then went back to the room. He was clearly favoring his right shoulder and was seen putting ice on it at one point. The Bruins ruled him out before the third period, leaving them with 10 forwards for the rest of the game.
Hathaway was given a two-minute minor for interference, which wasn't really the right call. It appeared to be a textbook hit from behind and/or boarding, and probably should have been a five-minute major. We'll find out on Friday if there's any supplemental discipline coming for Hathaway.
This is not the first time Hathaway has thrown a hit from behind against the Bruins. Last April, he drilled Jarred Tinordi from behind, leaving Tinordi with a bloody face. Hathaway received a five-minute major and game misconduct for that hit, but was not suspended.
After the game, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy called Hathaway's hit "cheap" and David Pastrnak said he thought it was "a little dirty." Read more about their reactions here:
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