Marchand berates radio host over report of rift with Pastrnak
Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak vehemently vow there's no feud between them, despite a Boston radio show claiming otherwise.
The report stated that Pastrnak told the Bruins he doesn't want to play on a line with Marchand because the captain called him out for some of his play, and that Pastrnak is at the center of a disastrous locker room. However, both players claim it isn't true.
"When there's blatant lies told in the media, that's when there's a problem. The fact that this guy has a platform and he's just making stuff up is embarrassing," Marchand said. "There's zero truth to anything that he said on the radio. The fact that he's going to have a job after this is insane because Pasta and I are best friends.
"We've had an incredibly close relationship for a long time. The only reason we don't play together is so we can spread depth throughout the lineup. There's zero truth to (Pastrnak) being a problem in the room. He's one of the most loved guys in the room."
Marchand continued to lambast the radio host.
"This guy has zero merit to anything he's saying. It's very frustrating because this is what happens. We have not pulled our weight this year, we have not had the season that we wanted to have. But I'm not going to let some random guy come in the media and just spit absolute nonsense. From this point forward, this guy has zero credibility. The fact that he's coming out with this is ridiculous. It's embarrassing. Anything that he puts forward in the future is now not going to be deemed as truth because he's completely just making all of this up."
Marchand added: "I wasn't going to address it, but I'm not going to let it become something that it's not. This guy can go pound sand, go back to the closet where no one knew (who) he was before, and report on nothing, because that's what he's going to be doing after this."
Pastrnak also reiterated that the report is fabricated.
"We love each other. I have a huge amount of respect for him," Pastrnak said. "We had a good laugh about it. It's 100% false."
The report comes at a tumultuous time for the Bruins, who dropped their sixth straight game Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Boston's eight-year postseason streak is in jeopardy, as the club enters Friday 11th in the Eastern Conference in points percentage.
Pastrnak is notably not playing up to his lofty standards. After tallying at least 110 points in each of the past two seasons, he's on pace for just 78 this year.
The duo has recently been split up, with Pastrnak skating alongside Pavel Zacha and Morgan Geekie, while Marchand is flanking Elias Lindholm and Charlie Coyle. The former is Boston's most-used trio this season.
Pastrnak and Marchand - teammates for 11 years - once played together almost exclusively, forming one of the NHL's best lines with Patrice Bergeron between them at center.