Marchand thrilled Bruins found his mirror image in Gabrielle

Brad Marchand saw his reflection on the ice, so that must mean it’s hockey season.

He was smiling after Thursday’s game and it had nothing to do with the fact the Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in overtime at TD Garden. It wasn’t because it was his first game action since the Bruins lost to the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring.

Marchand was smiling because he felt like he was looking into a mirror when Bruins rookie Jesse Gabrielle was on the ice.

“He reminds me a lot of myself,” Marchand said with a huge smile. “He’s funny. He’s a good kid. You watch him out there and he’s agitating. He was getting everyone off their game out there and it was fun to watch. It’s nice to have guys like that on your team. It’s fun when they're on your team and you hate when they’re on the other team. He’s fun to watch though.”

The two are nearly one in the same. Marchand has gained and earned the reputation of being a nasty player to play against. He’s considered one of the better antagonists in the league. Gabrielle wants that title.

“I was chirping so much I ran out of breath,” Gabrielle said.

Like many times earlier in Marchand’s career, Gabrielle took it too far when he challenged a referee’s penalty call.

He was on the bench late in the third period when a Flyers player was checked into the boards. Gabrielle held the player’s stick, the ref caught him and called an interference penalty. The rookie began to chirp and the referee quickly gave Gabrielle a 10-minute misconduct.

When asked about the incident after the game, Gabrielle used his best Marchand-isms and countless times said, “I’ll learn from it” or “Not going to happen again” or “It is what it is.”

That’s a complete lie, in a funny sort of way.

It will happen again. It’ll take him some time to learn from it. It was a dumb penalty to take, but Marchand pointed out that the Flyers were looking for Gabrielle at that point.



 

“He had a good game,” Marchand said. “He almost scored a shorthanded goal and he was buzzing around. He made some good plays, so he’s a good player.”

On-ice officials aren’t going to take that type of verbal commentary from a rookie.

“They were tight on him and it makes it tough for him to do his thing, but he played his role well and had a good game,” Marchand said.

The two were laughing about it after the game.

“I was doing a really good job of getting under their skin and I had guys coming after me all game,” Gabrielle said. “It was a lot of fun up until you get over that line just a little bit. The whole game it was going good, getting under their skin and a lot of NHL guys were coming after me. It was a learning experience. You live and you learn. It’s not going to happen again.”

Lies, all lies.

We don’t have enough time (although it would be fun) to find out how many times Marchand has said in his career “I’ve learned from it” or “It won't happen again.”

It’s in their DNA. That’s the way they play and that’s how they’re successful. Teammates feed off that energy as long as it doesn’t go too far and impact the team in a negative way. Numerous times during Marchand’s career he was called into the coach’s office, or one of the veterans would have to discuss his on-ice behavior with him.

But you can’t strip a player of his personality and Marchand and Gabrielle are loaded with colorful chirpiness.

“I try to learn from him because he’s my favorite player,” admitted Gabrielle. “I try to emulate my game after him, so I just try to be a sponge around him. When you can watch him play and literally experience him on the bench, I’m just trying to be a sponge and learn from him.”

Gabrielle talked with Marchand about the incident after the game and asked for his advice.

“He said, ‘You’ve just got to find that line. You’re going to get caught sometimes but you’ve got to learn from it.’ He thought it was pretty funny that I was getting under the guys’ skin,” said Gabrielle, who will develop his talents in Providence to start the season.

He proved during his four full seasons in the WHL that he can score. Last  season he registered 35 goals and 29 assists for 64 points in 61 games. During the Prospects Challenge two weeks ago in Buffalo, he scored a couple of goals. The puck finds him and it’s good to have that type of puck luck.

When you’re not scoring it’s good to have another tool in your arsenal, and similar to Marchand, Gabrielle has the gift of the chip. He just needs to know when and when not to use it.

“It happened during development camp, so here’s a guy who walks on the edge and I thought played a very good hockey game tonight,” said Bruce Cassidy. “At ice level, he had a few (Flyers) frustrated. If that’s what makes him tick, and he can stay on the right side of the line, then we’re ok with it. But clearly, he crossed it tonight. As a young guy, if you try to take on the officials in the National Hockey League you are going to lose and he lost tonight.”

It's tough to replicate Marchand and his style of play, but it's possible the Bruins found his clone.