BRIGHTON -- There were more than a few that scoffed at the Bruins when they went out and acquired 35-year-old Pat Maroon at the NHL trade deadline. The big winger had been out of action since early February after undergoing back surgery and the 6-foot-3, 234-pounder is obviously no longer any spring chicken with 780 games of NHL experience.
And there were questions about when he would return to game action making naysayers wonder if he was merely being picked up as some kind of Stanley Cup good luck charm that might just lend some experience and leadership.
Well, Maroon answered those questions about what kind of factor he could be in the Game 1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Big Rig had one of the most talked about moments in the game when he blasted Timothy Liljegren with a hit that knocked the Leafs defenseman onto the Bruins bench in the first period.
Pat Maroon making himself a factor. Assisted on Boston’s first goal too pic.twitter.com/sp6RiWPmuT
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) April 21, 2024
“[The Stanley Cup playoffs] is the time to see who has it and who doesn’t,” said Maroon, pretty simply before the series started.
Clearly, he’s proven that he has it time and time again in the postseason.
Maroon assisted on Johnny Beecher’s goal as he helped spring Jesper Boqvist and Beecher for the scoring 2-on-1 play, and he bodied more than one Toronto defenseman while digging into them as they attempted to retrieve the puck in the corner. Maroon finished with the assist and a plus-1 rating in 11:28 of ice time, three shot attempts and six hits in an impactful fourth-line performance.
“He made a great play on that first goal tonight,” said Brad Marchand of Maroon. “He understands the importance of the little plays in the game that can make a difference in the outcome, and he harps on that and he keeps guys accountable.
“It’s not an easy thing to do for a guy to come in at a deadline and act like that and have that confidence in a room, but because of his experience, he does. It makes a big difference. He has a ton of experience he can draw from.”
And then there’s the leadership and oversized presence that Maroon brings to the table with his big game experience, his willingness to speak up even though he’s played a grand total of three games with the team and the courage he gives everybody else on the team as the big brother ready to have their back if there’s any trouble.
“It’s a lot of emotion that comes our way, especially because the crowd gets into it,” said Jim Montgomery of what Maroon brings when hits the ice in a playoff environment. “The play he makes, I mean, that’s what he’s good at — is making subtle plays that build the team game.
“And what he’s really good at is on the bench, and what we’ve noticed is, a lot like Nick Foligno, a lot of positive talk, a lot of reinforcement of what the game plan is.
“When he’s on the ice, his ability to hang onto pucks, his ability to make plays, I think it’s incredibly underrated. A lot of people talk about Maroon and his fisticuffs, for lack of a better word. To me, he’s a hockey player. He’s won three Cups because he’s a hockey player.”
The challenge now is that Maroon, Boqvist and Beecher have elevated the expectation and raised the bar for what the fourth line can bring during this Stanley Cup run, but that’s a good thing for the Black and Gold. It means that trio did everything right in Game 1 and has a chance to be the kind of impactful energy line that the Bruins haven’t fully had during recent playoff runs.
It remains to be seen if Maroon’s play is going to help him collect what would be an amazing fourth Stanley Cup ring, but it is all off to an encouraging start after Bruins management correctly recognized that they needed a player like him coming out of the NHL trade deadline.