Bruins’ Marchand defends coach Montgomery after viral bench spat

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand finds himself at the centre of controversy yet again.

On Saturday, head coach Jim Montgomery yelled at his captain and lightly shoved him on the bench after a giveaway led to a goal for the Utah Hockey Club.

But Marchand, in a video posted by Conor Ryan of Boston.com, said he was happy how things played out.

“It’s unfortunate how coaches are scrutinized over things like that. There’s a lack of accountability nowadays because people can’t handle the heat. You make a mistake like that, you deserve to hear about it,” Marchand said.

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Boston went on to lose the game 2-1 in overtime. The team sits fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 3-3-1 record heading into Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars.

Marchand added that he was “glad” Montgomery reacted in the manner that he did.

“If he didn’t, we would have much bigger issues. The fact that it’s something we’re talking about is disappointing, but that’s the way things are,” he said.

The 36-year-old Marchand has endured a slow start to the season by his standards, with no goals and four assists in seven games.

He is one of six players named to Team Canada for the inaugural 4 Nations Faceoff in February.