While things haven't been perfect in Hockeytown this year, the good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that they've not had instances of in-house strife like a handful of other clubs.
One such team is their divisional foe Boston Bruins, who not only made an unexpected coaching change earlier in the year but also have had to fight off rumours of a conflict between captain Brad Marchand and top forward David Pastrnak.
Yesterday, Boston was beaten 6-5 in the shootout by the Ottawa Senators, and Marchand was absent for the entire overtime despite having scored 21 OT goals in his career, the 3rd most among active players.
Joe Sacco, who is Boston's interim head coach, simply said that it was a coach's decision not to play Marchand in overtime, while also adding that that Marchand wasn't injured.
Marchand offered a more diplomatic answer, saying that it was Sacco's decision based on how he felt the players performed.
Marchand is a pending free agent when this year is finished, and while he's spoken openly about wanting to remain with the Bruins for the rest of his career, there still remains the possibilities of both sides moving on from one another.
POLL | ||
JANVIER 19 | 103 ANSWERS Big changes could be on the way for Red Wings' divisional foe Bruins Will the Bruins trade captain Brad Marchand? | ||
Yes | 18 | 17.5 % |
No | 85 | 82.5 % |
List of polls |