Marchand Continues Milestone-Filled Campaign 

OTTAWA – Brad Marchand arrived in Boston well over a decade ago now.

And when he did, he took note of the Bruins legends that helped build a culture of passion, commitment, respect, and winning.

From Milt Schmidt to Johnny Bucyk to Bobby Orr to Ray Bourque to Cam Neely the winger – who learned under the tutelage of Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron – Marchand had plenty of Black & Gold legends to look up to.

But never once did he think he’d end up in their company.

“Obviously coming in here, you know all those guys and you’ve seen what they’ve done and what they’ve left behind, but you don’t ever imagine when you walk into an organization like this being in those conversations or on those lists,” said Marchand.

Marchand, however, has very much entered those conversations – more and more, it seems, with each passing week.

On Thursday night against Ottawa, the 35-year-old notched the overtime winner in Boston’s 3-2 victory over the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre and with it passed Bourque to move into sole possession of fifth place on the Bruins’ all-time goals list with the 396^th of his career.

“I try not to think too much about it, but it is special,” said Marchand. “I never thought that my career would come this far and some of the things that have gone on would have happened. I’ve been extremely fortunate and very lucky to be a part of a group that’s had a lot of success and a lot of phenomenal guys to learn from.

“That starts with previous generations and the guys that have built a culture here that you want to come in and be part of.”

Marchand, who was named the club’s 27^th captain before this season, has also registered several other milestones this season. The Nova Scotia native moved into fifth on the B’s all-time points list earlier this month and shortly after became the fifth player in club history with 900 career points. Marchand also became the eighth player in club history with 500 assists back in November.

“It is special to see,” said Marchand, who is now just seven goals shy of passing Rick Middleton for fourth on Boston’s all-time list and four assists shy of seventh on the team’s all-time list. “But again, it’s just because when you’re fortunate enough to be part of great teams and an organization this long, you kind of just happen to fall in there.”

The Boston captain credited those that came before him for setting a standard that has allowed the Bruins to have so much success throughout his entire 15-year career with the team.

“You learn to buy in and it allows everyone to have success and that’s one of the things that you learn very early here is you come in and you buy in and you do the right things, be a part of a winning team, a winning culture,” said Marchand. “It’s fun to come to the rink every day. You have a lot of success throughout the lineup.”

Coach Jim Montgomery said Boston’s success begins with No. 63.

“It’s the character and the culture of we complete hard, we have great second and third effort,” Montgomery said of Boston’s response in its overtime win in Ottawa. “sOur captain is the epitome of hard work.”

Marchand added that he feels privileged to have developed relationships with many of the legendary figures he has joined among the Bruins’ all-time ranks.

“I grew up idolizing them and idolized the way – as I’ve gotten to know them – the way that they carry themselves, the legacy that they’ve left, how important it is for them to continue to be part of the organization and give back and teach the young guys,” said Marchand. “Just some of the conversations I’ve had with some of those guys speaks volumes to who they are as people and what makes them great leaders and great players.

“You can see the competitive edge that they have. When you speak to them, they speak about the way they played, their experiences, so [it’s great] to be able to sit there and talk to these guys and see their names on the list.”

Ultimately, however, Marchand has one goal on his mind, and individual stats are not at the forefront.

“[The goal milestone is] something I’m very proud of but I just don’t get caught up in it because I feel like I have a lot of time left,” said Marchand. “At the end of the day, when I retire and I hang them up then maybe I’ll look up and see what’s been accomplished but the goal every year is not to win certain scoring stats, it’s about winning the last game.

“It’s part of the process but when you do sit back and look at it, it’s special. I do feel very fortunate.”