from Dominik Luszczyszyn of The Hockey News,

If there was a consensus “least favourite player” in the league among fans, it’d probably be Brad Marchand. Considering all the dirty and sometimes reckless plays the Bruins left winger has administered over the years, it’s a pretty deserved reputation too.

Fans always remember the bad stuff, and it’s because of that they forget just how good Marchand actually is. This season he’s reached another level, one that even THN web editor Ian Denomme didn’t realize.

“Holy s–––, Brad Marchand is on pace for 42 goals. That’s insane,” was his immediate reaction when this story was pitched. After coming up short in a 2-1 Bruins win on Tuesday that pace has actually dropped to 41, but the point still stands: Marchand – who doesn’t have a 30 goal season to his name – might actually hit 40 this year. (And he’d probably have a better chance too if it wasn’t for this dumb play in late December that earned him a three game suspension).

Marchand is currently fifth in the league with 28 goals in 52 games. The torrid pace is thanks in part to his current hot streak where he’s scored 13 goals in 14 games, vaulting him up the leaderboards. Even more impressive is that Marchand averages just 18:32 of ice-time per game, while everyone above him gets at least an extra minute per game, not to mention more powerplay time, too. In terms of efficiency, Marchand is second only to Alex Ovechkin among the league’s Top 10 goal scoring leaders at 1.8 goals per 60 minutes.

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