Marchand Nets First Career Hat Trick

BOSTON (CBS) – Brad Marchand not only took over as the Boston Bruins leading goal scorer Friday night, he also netted his first career hat trick in Boston's 8-0 win over the Panthers.

"I never even thought I would ever get one of those in this league," Marchand said after the game, with all three pucks in his locker.

Marchand had to think about any other hat tricks throughout his time on the ice, and said he had one in Juniors. Back then, there wasn't the collection of hats on the ice he saw Friday night.

"Yeah, one or two but not like today," he said.

For Marchand, his hat trick is just the latest in a line of accomplishments since breaking into the Bruins rotation last season. He fought hard to make it to the NHL, and then worked his way up from the fourth to the second line of the eventual Stanley Cup champions.

"I thought I could, but to make it in this league everything has to go right. You have to get the right breaks and when you get your opportunity you have to play well and everything," said Marchand. "So, it's not easy to make it. There's a lot of great guys in the American Hockey League who never get the chance, and they are a lot better hockey players than me, but it's just that things have gone well and I've been fortunate."

Stats: Bruins Team Stats

His 15 goals now lead the Bruins over linemate Tyler Segiun's 14, and already put him on pace for a 30-goal season. But a very humble Marchand said a lot of his scoring is due to his teammates.

"I think I've just been fortunate enough to play with great players and I just kind of feed off them and get some lucky goals. I never expected to be in that position and I don't expect to be there long, but it's a lot of fun being on this team and being in the winning ways right now, so hopefully it keeps going.

"He's good at finding the puck around the net, and also finding ways to put the puck in," said Marchand's center on the second line, Patrice Bergeron. "He's pretty resilient, too, just to find ways to score. Right now he's playing really well, and you can't ask more than four goals in two games, can you? So it's great for him to see that, and hopefully he can stay like that."

From potential cast off to Stanley Cup hero, it has been a long journey for the 23-year-old Marchand.

"You can't even put into words how fast a year and a half has gone and, you know, I remember last summer just trying to come in and make the team. Then we go on and win the Stanley Cup and come in this year and we still have a great team and all the cards just kind of lined up. It's been a dream come true for sure.'

There is still plenty of room for improvement according to his head coach, but Marchand is making the right strides for a young player.

"The experience is what's taking over right now. I'm not going to hide the fact that there's still some things we deal with – whether it's a weekly basis or a daily basis – he's a real emotional individual and sometimes he just gets himself all wound up and you have to point him down a little bit" said coach Claude Julien. "But, I think he's done a good job of dealing with that, and whenever he does kind of get wound up you just kind of grab him and touch him by the shoulder and he gets it now."

Stats: NHL Standings

"That's what makes him a good player, and I've said it many times, as long as he doesn't cross that line, he's good at it," added Julien. "I think he's got to play with emotion to be successful, and I think he's learning to do that more and his experience from last year to this year has really helped him."

The sky is the limit for Marchand, and now he has a trio of pucks to prove it.

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