The first fight of Lars Eller’s NHL career left the Capitals center bloody and bruised. During Washington’s 7-0 win Wednesday over the Boston Bruins, Eller took a number of clean right hands to the face from Bruins winger Brad Marchand. The scrap — which came with six minutes left in the third period — was seemingly random. Marchand was given a 10-minute game misconduct, leading to his ejection, and an instigator penalty. So exactly what happened? Apparently, there are “unwritten rules” in hockey, too, not just baseball. “His celebration was unnecessary,” Marchand said. “He took an angle in front of our bench and celebrated in a 7-0 game. So I just let him know.” That’s right — Marchand was upset with Eller for … having scored a goal in a game. And then being a little too happy about it. The Capitals were unaware of Marchand’s explanation but angry with the winger nonetheless, particularly on the heels of Tom Wilson’s 20-game suspension. “I think it’s unfortunate for Tom that the league is making an example out of him,” forward T.J. Oshie said. “They set the standards, they want to get the dirty stuff out of the game. Which I think at least Tom’s play was on the ice and he was hitting the guy that had the puck milliseconds before. “And then you see tonight the sucker punches that Lars took in,” Oshie said. “So they kind of set the standard. Marchand has a history, and we trust that they’ll do what they’re supposed to do and take care of business.” Marchand has a string of controversial incidents in the NHL. Last season, the league intervened when Marchand kept licking opponents during the Bruins’ first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, telling him he had to stop. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy stood up for his player after Wednesday’s game. “That’s good,” he said. “He’s a proud guy. I think Eller celebrated a little on a 7-0 goal. I think that’s his prerogative and Marchy let him know that that’s not acceptable. That’s that and we move on.” Capitals coach Todd Reirden called the fight “unjust,” while Oshie said he understood why Marchand wanted to fight Eller, but if the Capitals center didn’t want to engage, then he should have let it go. “It’s a long season,” Oshie said. “We play them a lot of times. They could have handled that differently.” Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters Copyright © 2021 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.<doc-sep>Wednesday's season-opener against the Washington Capitals didn't exactly go the way the Bruins had hoped. The Caps thrashed the Bruins and took away a 7-0 victory on home ice, but not before some controversy was brewed up at Capital One Arena. After Washington forward Lars Eller scored his third-period goal that made it 7-0, he proceeded to skate past the Bruins bench and celebrated his tally with a rather unspectacular celebration in front of a frustrated Boston group. Some of the veteran members of the Bruins, including Brad Marchand, took offense to Eller showboating in front of their bench in a blowout. They let Eller know about it with a verbal warning, but that wasn't enough for Marchand. Later in the period, the Bruins winger went out of his way to get a piece of Eller. Marchand received a five-minute major for fighting, a two-minute minor for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct at the conclusion of the fight. Replays showed that Eller took a couple of big shots to the head during the scrap and he was bloodied up pretty good as he headed off the ice for repairs. After the game, Marchand confirmed that Eller's celebration was the reason for the fight. Marchand, who has a well-earned reputation of being an agitator, didn't exactly give Eller a fair shot to turn down the fight, and that's something that he may have to answer for down the line. The NHL rulebook requires at least two willing combatants in any permissible fight, and guys are supposed to wait until both parties shed their gloves before engaging and throwing punches. With how quickly Marchand engaged Eller, some felt as though he "jumped" the Capitals forward. Some even took exception to him challenging Eller at all, as the Capitals forward isn't known to be a fighter. This was the first fight of his NHL career. On the other side, some felt as though Marchand was within his right to confront Eller after the celebration in front of the Bruins bench. It's viewed as an infringement of the sport's "unwritten rules" and is apparently considered worthy of a response. But, again, the response is only acceptable if it's determined that there are two willing parties ready to go. Eller eventually settled into the bout and attempted to throw some punches in Marchand's direction, but the crux of the controversy here is whether or not Marchand gave him any choice. It seems rather unlikely there's supplemental discipline coming -- the instigator and misconduct penalties are standard in these situations -- but given Marchand's lengthy history with the league's Department of Player Safety (he's been suspended five times), pretty much anything he does is scrutinized with a more intense lens than most other players. In any case, I've always felt the best way to prevent opponents from showboating in front of your bench when you're down by seven goals is to not allow them to lead by seven goals. It's also not super ideal to have your leading scorer from last season fighting in a seven-goal game.<doc-sep>Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Click to share on Flipboard (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) The Washington Capitals handed the Boston Bruins a nasty 7-0 drubbing to start the season, and frustrations boiled over for Brad Marchand. After Lars Eller scored the 7-0 goal, he jawed at the Bruins bench, and that apparently pushed Marchand over the edge. Marchand received a game misconduct and instigator infractions to go along with a fighting major after he went after Eller, who was bloodied by the fight. You can see it all – including the offending smack talk – in the video above. Following the Bruins’ worst-ever season-opening loss, Marchand wasn’t exactly apologetic to Eller. “His celebration was unnecessary,” Marchand said, via the AP’s Stephen Whyno. “He took an angle in front of our bench and celebrated in a 7-0 game. So I just let him know.” We’ll see if there’s any additional fallout from this, but plenty will find such comments rich from Marchand, considering his history of licking, iffy hits, and even that “golfing” celebration. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy voiced his support for Marchand, stating that “Marchy let him know that that’s not acceptable.” According to Hockey Fights’ listings, this was the first fight of Eller’s career; while he fought back, plenty of people believe that he was reluctant to drop the gloves with Marchand. While the Bruins won’t have much time to shake off this embarrassing loss (they face the Sabres on Thursday), the two sides won’t renew acquaintances again in 2018. Their next contest takes place in Boston on Jan. 10. — James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.<doc-sep>
The Washington Capitals are not happy with the Bruins' Brad Marchand for fighting Lars Eller after Eller put the Capitals ahead 7-0. While the Bruins' vets let Eller know that they didn't appreciate him skating by their bench with words, Marchand took matters into his own hands by fighting Eller in front of the Bruins' net. He kind of jumped Eller, however, and Eller didn't get much of a chance to turn down his first career fight. Unsurprisingly, Eller lost. It's not exactly Marchand's first scrap, after all. After the game, some Capitals veterans spoke out against Marchand, who left Eller bloodied with a few serious punches to the skull. "I understand why they were frustrated at Lars there," T.J. Oshie said, via NBC Sports. "But you go up to a guy and you ask him to fight and if he doesn't ... It's a long season. We play them a lot of times. They could have handled that differently." Marchand said there was no time to exchange such pleasantries. "His celebration was unnecessary," Marchand said. "He took an angle in front of our bench and celebrated in a 7-0 game. So I just let him know." The Capitals are feeling the effects of an NHL that is sick of repeat offenders. Tom Wilson was suspended 20 games for a dirty hit on the Blues' Oskar Sundqvist. Oshie is hoping that they're consistent with that precedent on Marchand. "[The NHL] set the standards, they want to get the dirty stuff out of the game," he said, per NBC Sports. "Which I think at least Tom's play was on the ice and he was hitting the guy that had the puck milliseconds before. And then you see tonight the sucker punches that Lars took in ... Marchand has a history, and we trust that they'll do what they're supposed to do and take care of business." Of course, the NHL has a different view of retaliatory fights than blind side hits. But given the perception that Eller was jumped and Marchand has been suspended five times in his career, it's understandable that the Capitals want action taken. To be frank, it's unlikely Marchand will be suspended for this at all, but he may have a fine come his way. Contrary to what Oshie seems to believe, the NHL is much harder on on-ice plays, since decking someone at game speed is different from punching them in the head. When Capitals coach Todd Reirden was asked about punishment, he simply said: "We'll let other people take care of that." If the Capitals want the NHL to make an example out of Marchand, they may have to wait until next week when Marchand does something else. Even if the fight was premature, it was handled on the ice. According to the "fisticuffs" section of the rulebook, aka the best section, it takes three aggressor violations to get a two-game suspension. Given that this was the first game of the season, Marchand may find himself skating free for the time being.