And when he objected to an opponent getting away with a cross-check, he took matters into his own hands – with a little flourish.
During the second period of the Panthers-Sabres game on Saturday, Oct. 18, Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin cross-checked Marchand. Unhappy with that, Marchand jumped Dahlin a few seconds later and started throwing punches while the defenseman was on the ice.
But Marchand wasn’t done, He had Dahlin’s helmet in his hand as he got up and took it with him to the penalty box as an on-ice official led him there. Marchand ripped the straps off the helmet before tossing it back onto the ice. He threw the straps against the glass in the penalty box.
‘He’s a competitor,’ Dahlin said about Marchand after the game. ‘I’ve probably done something like that in the past, too. Stuff happens out there.’
When all was settled, Marchand received two minutes for interference and two minutes for roughing against Dahlin. Buffalo’s Tage Thompson got two minutes for roughing Marchand, giving the Sabres a power play.
Teammate Peyton Krebs lent Dahlin his helmet so the defenseman could play on the power play.
Josh Doan scored 32 seconds into the power play to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead.
The banged-up two-time defending Stanley Cup champions lost 3-0, their fourth in a row to drop them to 3-4-0 this season.
Adding to the Panthers’ injury woes, defenseman Niko Mikkola left the game with an upper body injury after a collision and didn’t return. Coach Paul Maurice said he’d have a better idea on Mikkola’s status on Monday.
Florida’s next game is Tuesday in Boston, where Marchand played for 17 seasons before being moved to the Panthers at the trade deadline and leading the team to a second consecutive Stanley Cup title.
(This story was updated with new information.)