Brad Marchand stepped up for the Boston Bruins, who were without key first-line fixture Patrice Bergeron, to score the go-ahead goal in Thursday night's 3-1 Game 4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The game-winner was a result of a beautiful cross-ice pass by David Pastrnak in the second period, helping the "Little Ball of Hate" and his team sway the 3-1 first-round series in favour of Boston.
Any change in approach for No. 63?
''It doesn't matter [if Bergeron's out],'' Marchand told reporters. ''You play the same way.''
The winger and renowned league pest whose ability to get under opponents' skin is matched by back-to-back 85-point regular-season campaigns, stepped up in the absence of who he (and head coach Claude Julien) steadfastly agree is always going to be the best player on the ice for the Bruins.
"I’ll never be the best guy on the ice every night. That’s impossible while number 37 is out there," Marchand penned in a recent The Players' Tribune article. "I just hold myself accountable to be second-best."
Safe to say that Marchand stepped up from second-best in a big way for the Bruins, who can punch their ticket to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in front of a home crowd this Saturday.