Bruins forward Brad Marchand will have a hearing for clipping Mark Borowiecki of the Ottawa Senators in Tuesday’s game in Boston.  The hit came midway through the first period of play. Marchand was not given a penalty on the play.

 

From the NHL rulebook:

44.1 Clipping – Clipping is the act of throwing the body, from any direction, across or below the knees of an opponent. A player may not deliver a check in a “clipping” manner, nor lower his own body position to deliver a check on or below an opponent’s knees.

An illegal “low hit” is a check that is delivered by a player who may or may not have both skates on the ice, with his sole intent to check the opponent in the area of his knees. A player may not lower his body position to deliver a check to an opponent’s knees.

Marchand defended the play to CSN New England: 

“It was a simple play. I mean, I was trying to get to the puck carrier, and I turned up ice,” said Marchand. “He was kind of standing there. I just turned up and tried to go to the puck carrier.” Asked if he was concerned about the league reviewing the play with the Winter Classic only a couple of days away, Marchand said simply: “I can’t control that.” 

Borowiecki left the game briefly, but returned to the game later in the period.

“I thought they were getting away with a lot of crap,” said Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson. “I saw [the hit] and I think it’s intentional. He knows it’s Boro and he had a big hit the last game. The league is going to do the right thing.”

This is not the first time Marchand’s clipped an opponent. He was suspended for five games back in 2012 for this hit on Vancouver’s Sami Salo.

 

Retired NHL referee Kerry Fraser called for a significant suspension on Marchand:

“Without a doubt this illegal and dangerous clipping violation rises to the level of a meaningful suspension.”

“The “low hit” that cut down Borowiecki and caused the Ottawa player to land on his head was at the very least as severe, or in my opinion more severe, than the one delivered on Salo.

“I find it impossible to give Marchand the benefit of the doubt that he was just trying to turn up ice to pursue the puck carrier given his approach, setup and elevated finish with both his body and stick that lifted and deposited his opponent on his head.”

Marchand’s been in trouble with the Department of Player Safety before.  In addition to his five-game sentence for the hit on Salo, he was suspended last season for two games for a slew foot on New York Rangers center Derick Brassard. He’s also been fined, once for a slew foot on Penguins blueliner Matt Niskanen and earlier this season for a retaliatory punch. 

Marchand escaped punishment on the low hit on Borowiecki, which allowed him to remain in the game…. and to do this:

 

Marchand was called for slashing on the play.  The Senators were not surprised by that move. 

“He’s done it before,” said Turris, as per the Ottawa Citizen. “We’ve come to expect stuff like that.”

“I was surprised he was still around to spear Turry,” Ottawa head coach Dave Cameron told the Ottawa Sun.

 

 

Referees for the game were Kyle Rehman and Frederick L’Ecuyer. Michel Cormier & Tim Nowak worked the lines.