Marchand: 'Skinner slew-foots all the time'

Patrice Bergeron was uncharacteristically irate at the end of Monday night’s 5-3 win over the Hurricanes when Carolina forward Jeff Skinner appeared to slew-foot the Selke winner behind the Bruins’ net. Bergeron said Tuesday that he isn’t overly concerned with whether the league punishes Skinner, but one of his linemates was a little more fired up about it.

Brad Marchand, who was fined last season for slew footing Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen, said that Skinner’s behavior was nothing new.

“Skinner slew-foots all the time,” Marchand said Tuesday. “He’s always doing that to guys and I think Bergy just had enough of it. We even spoke about it before the game in the room. The guys were talking about how much he slew foots and you’ve got to watch out for him. You can see it’s very blatant. He kicks his legs out and throws him back.

“I remember I got a fine for that last year. It’s not a good play, it’s frowned upon and if you continue to do that to guys, you’re going to get it. Bergy just had enough, and it was good for Bergy to stand up for himself like that.”

Marchand called the move “a greasy play” and said he regretted doing it himself last season, noting that Skinner should break the habit.

“He’s got to stop doing that,” he said. “If he does it again, I wouldn’t be surprised if a guy got up and took exception. It’s just not a good play.”

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