[Update] Brad Marchand to have a hearing after elbowing Johansson

Late in the third period of tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand caught New Jersey left wing Marcus Johansson with an elbow to the head while falling to the ice.

As Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley mention in the video, from this angle it seemed inadvertent but given Brad Marchand’s long rap sheet with the Department of Player Safety and his reputation across the league, it’s probably fair to assume he will be getting a call from Player Safety. With the team already down Charlie McAvoy, losing their leading scorer would be a big blow.

From other angles, the hit looks even worse, and in my opinion Marchand is likely going to miss at least a game as a result. Marchand was not penalized for the play, but as some mentioned, this was perhaps the result of numerous embellishments from various Devil’s players throughout the night.

Regardless, the hit is certainly drawing plenty of attention on social media. Most importantly, hopefully Johansson is okay after the play.

When asked about the play following the game, Marchand stated he hoped Johansson was okay.

What are your thoughts on the hit? Let us know below.

EDIT (Wednesday, 9:18 AM): As expected the Department of Player Safety has announced a hearing for Bead Marchand. It will likely be a phone hearing, meaning 5 or less games if a suspension is issued.