Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand, known for pushing the limits, made news during last year's playoffs when he licked players. And he began this season pummeling a player in a season-opening blowout loss over how he celebrated a goal and getting misconducts for two incidents of protesting a call. That contributed to Marchand having 66 penalty minutes through 19 games, but he behaved afterward with 30 minutes through the rest of the regular season as he recorded a career-best 100 points. But cameras caught him reverting to old ways as he delivered a cheap shot near the end of the Bruins' 2-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets during Game 3. Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had made a save with 71 seconds left in the third period and there was a scrum in front of the net. Marchand skated behind a kneeling Columbus defenseman Scott Harrington and punched him in the back of the head. Harrington wasn't hurt and the referees missed the play because they were breaking apart other players. Marchand skated away as Boone Jenner said something to him. NHL PLAYOFFS:fans were in awe of how Columbus' goalie stood on his head But the league could always look at the video evidence. Marchand does have six previous suspensions, though a fine could be levied instead. Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, whose team leads the series 2-1, said he saw the play, but he didn't comment on it. "I'm not giving you my thoughts," he told reporters. "I don't need to give you my thoughts on that." Game 4 will be in Columbus Thursday.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>Brad Marchand avoided getting forced out of the lineup, David Backes could be joining him in it. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline first reported that Marchand, whose play can ping-pong over the line between effective agitator and dirty, won’t get any extra discipline for his punchy-shove/shovy-punch to the back of Scott Harrington’s head late in Tuesday’s Game 3. The Blue Jackets’ 2-1 win that night gave Columbus a 2-1 lead in the teams’ second round Stanley Cup playoff series. "I didn't like it but it certainly doesn't rise to a suspension for me." – @Burkie2020 on Brad Marchand's cheap shot on Scott Harrington. pic.twitter.com/FHXIdPchGb — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 1, 2019 The hit itself went unpenalized and didn’t get much attention until after the game. Marchand’s repeat offender status is likely the only thing that made a suspension even seem possible. #NHL has reviewed #NHLBruins Brad Marchand incident at final buzzer on Tuesday. Expectation is that no supplemental discipline is coming from the league. #CBJ — Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) May 1, 2019 Game 4 is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. As he has after most losses in the postseason, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy could be mixing up his lines, both in terms of who is dressing and who is playing together if Wednesday’s practices lines are any indication, and they often are. #NHLBruins practice lines: Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak DeBrusk - Krejci - Backes Johansson - Coyle - Heinen Nordstrom - Kuraly - Acciari/Wagner Kuhlman Chara - McAvoy Krug - Carlo Grzelcyk - Clifton Kampfer - Moore Rask Halak McIntyre — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) May 1, 2019 Struggling forward David Pastrnak moved back to the first line with Marchand and Bergeron as Danton Heinen dropped to the third line with Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson. Backes moved into the second line and Karson Kuhlman headed out of the lineup. Four players practiced with the fourth line as Chris Wagner alternated in with the Sean Kuraly-Noel Acciari-Joakim Nordstron unit. Backes and potentially Wagner, who are both generally more physical players could conceivable added to help counteract the Blue Jackets’ physical play in the series.<doc-sep>
It would appear that Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand is up to his old tricks. Marchand is once again facing controversy for his latest antics, this time due to a cheap shot he delivered in the third period of Tuesday's Game 3 in Columbus. With the Bruins trailing 2-1 late in the game and the puck frozen by Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, Marchand couldn't resist taking a jab at an unsuspecting opponent. Following a whistle with 1:03 left in the third period, Columbus defenseman Scott Harrington was on his knees just outside the crease when Marchand delivered a punch to the back of his helmet. After hitting him, Marchand immediately started heading back to the Boston bench. It was a dirty play, and one that Marchand was able to get away with as officials apparently missed it and no penalty was called. For that, Marchand is extremely fortunate considering the Bruins were only down a goal and have been heavily outplayed on special teams throughout this entire series. (The Blue Jackets' game-winner in Game 3 was scored on the power play -- one produced by a Marchand penalty, no less.) However, cameras caught the incident, which was reportedly reviewed by the league's Department of Player Safety after Tuesday's game. Relatively speaking, it wasn't the hardest or most dangerous shot to the head, but Marchand is a controversial player with a lengthy rap sheet and suspension history, so many wondered if the league would come down on him yet again. It sounds like Marchand will escape the incident without punishment. That likely won't be received well by the Blue Jackets, who may look to seek a little bit of justice themselves in Game 4. Columbus head coach John Tortorella showed great restraint when asked about the incident post-game. In any case, Marchand pulling this kind of stuff isn't a good look for the veteran winger, and it's worse when you consider the situation in which it was pulled. The coaching staff likely isn't pleased with his willingness to potentially put his team at a disadvantage late in a tight, crucial playoff game. Marchand finished the regular season as the Bruins' leading scorer with 100 points, but he's been completely blanked on the scoresheet through the first three games of this series. The Blue Jackets lead Boston 2-1 and will have a chance to push the Bruins to the brink of elimination with a win on home ice this Thursday night.