Paul Maurice stays vague on Brad Marchand, injury concern grows

Florida's 4-1 loss Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena was ugly enough on its own. Then Marchand didn't take a shift in the third period after a late second-period sequence that drew everyone's eyes.

Paul Maurice tried to cool it down afterward, saying the decision to sit Marchand was his call. He also admitted the 37-year-old has been «dealing with something,» with no specifics offered publicly.

That matters because Marchand has been Florida's pace-setter all season, not just a passenger. He's tied for the team lead with 23 goals and sits first in points with 46, numbers backed up by both Reuters and ESPN.

As a fan watching this team nightly, you can feel the bench tighten when a leader disappears mid-game.

Brad Marchand is the kind of player who never blinks, and that's exactly why the third-period decision in Toronto stood out. If Paul Maurice chose to keep him off the ice after the second period, you can bet Marchand wasn't thrilled about it, because he's a battle-tested competitor who wants to help in every moment.

He's wired to push back when his team is trailing, and doing it in a building like Scotiabank Arena, against a rival like the Maple Leafs, only cranks that edge up even more.

The irony is he's always been the «found in the third round» story, drafted 71st overall by Boston in 2006. That underdog résumé still shows in his details, the retrievals, the chirps, and the way he pulls defenders out of shape.

Florida also can't afford to get cute with the minutes right now, because they're trying to manage a grind as two-time defending champions. The next one comes tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, and any lineup tweak will ripple through the whole forward mix.