For the eighth time in his career, and second this season, Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand has been suspended. This time it’s for six games, for roughing and high sticking against Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry.

The ban was announced following an earlier in-person hearing with Marchand.

He was already suspended once this season for three games, when he slew footed Oliver Ekman-Larsson. And, with two five-game bans under his belt, NHL Player Safety decided to give him the longest suspension of his career.

“Players who repeatedly violate league playing rules will be severely punished for each new violation,” Player Safety noted in a video. “Marchand has been suspended seven times and fined five times previously.”

This most recent incident occurred during Pittsburgh’s 4-2 victory over Boston on Tuesday. With the Bruins trailing by two with less than a minute to play, Jarry apparently said something to Marchand and the latter took a swing.

The punch, of course, drew the ire of several Penguins. A donnybrook ensued and the chaos earned Marchand a five-minute match penalty for attempt to injure and a two-minute call for roughing. As the anarchy happened in the game’s final minute, it was automatically subject to NHL review.

“It looked like some words were exchanged,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I don’t know if there was an incident at the end of the second period that precipitated it. I was in the room, so I don’t know. Someone said that. Still, you’ve got to have better discipline at the end of the day. Brad’s a leader on our team. He needs to control his emotions in that situation.”

“I think it’s just the heat of the moment,” Jarry said. “Everyone’s battling hard out there … it’s part of the game, and [what happened] stays on the ice.”

Marchand leads the Bruins in scoring this season with 21 goals and 49 points.

For the first time since 2011, the Stanley Cup Finals will be going to a Game 7. The Boston Bruins will be hosting the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday at the TD Garden, with the Bruins hoping to lift their seventh Stanley Cup, while the Blues are seeking their first  trophy in franchise history.

Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara is set to break the record Wednesday for most game sevens played in career with 14, thus passing Patrick Roy and Scott Stevens. The Bruins are riding off the back of goalie Tuukka Rask, who will most likely win MVP if the Bruins were to pull off the Game 7 win. Rask has played as many games as any goalie in a playoff year with 23, with the best save percentage, with .938 besides former Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, who played 25 games in the 2011 postseason when the Bruins won their last Stanley Cup, posting a .940 save percentage. The Bruins hold a deadly starting front line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, who will all give this Blues defense a run for their money.

Oddly enough, The Blues may favor playing on the road as they are 9-3 on the road this postseason. They’ve won twice at TD Garden as they seem to favor the challenge away from home. The key for the Blues has to be rookie goalie Jordan Binnington. After taking the starting role in January, he has shown that he can be that colossal force that holds the Blues together. Like the Bruins with Rask, the Blues will need to ride off of Binnington’s performance in Game 7 in order to win. Up front, Ryan O’Reilly extends his scoring streak, with four goals in his last three games. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is also a major key for the Blues, as he has tallied 15 assists this postseason.

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Oddsmakers believe home ice still remains a major factor, as the Bruins are -165 favorites, but it remains a toss-up as the Blues favor being on the road. The under will be favorited as well, as both goalies will surely be in lock-down mode ahead of the biggest games of their career.

Game 7 will be hosted in Boston and broadcasted on NBC at 8:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday night.

The Stanley Cup Finals is going to a Game 7 after the Boston Bruins leveled the series 3-3 against the St. Louis Blues. The final game will be played Wednesday at TD Garden in Boston after the Bruins beat the Blues 5-1 in Game 6 at Enterprise Stadium.

The Blues had an opportunity to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history on their home ice, but the Bruins denied that, forcing the Blues to come to Boston in order to win it. Goalie Tuukka Rask wouldn’t let the Bruins fold, making 28 total saves including a save he caught behind his back. It felt as though the entire city of St. Louis was there to see their team lift their first cup, with over 30,000 fans pushing their team to a hot start, until Rask denied them of that.

“We killed that penalty in the first period. That’s huge,” Rask said, according to ESPN. “Last time we were here, they scored 30 seconds in. Obviously you don’t want that to happen again. We weathered the storm pretty good and then got the lead. It was a great start.”

The Blues went 0-4 in power play this game, making them 1-18 this finals series in their power play. The Bruins rode off Rask’s performance in net.

“He just steps up when it matters, and we have all the faith in the world in him, and to see him play the way that he did, it’s really not a surprise to us,” defender Charlie McAvoy said about Rask, according to ESPN. “We just believe in him so much, and we know the kind of person and player he is. He’s our rock.”

Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak led the Bruins from the front, each tallying a goal and an assist. Brandon Carlo, Zdeno Chara and Karson Kuhlman scored for the Bruins as well. Ryan O’Reilly scored a constellation goal for the Blues after the Bruins scored four in the 3rd period.

This series is the first time since 2011 that a Stanley Cup series is going to seven games, with the Bruins beating Vancouver in a seven game series. The Bruins will have a chance to repeat history, while the Blues will be looking to lift their first cup in their franchise.

After the St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup finals game in franchise history, they travel back home to St. Louis for Game 3 at the Enterprise Stadium. With the series tied 1-1, the Blues could take a series advantage at home against the Boston Bruins.

The Bruins have never lost a postseason game in St. Louis (4-0), but the Blues look solid as ever with an incredible amount of depth, as last game at the TD Garden, the Blues had their 19th different player score for them this postseason. Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson scored his first career playoff goal to help the Blues win in Overtime in Game 2.

“Our depth is tremendous on the back end and up front, Blues’ head coach Craig Berube said, according to FOX St. Louis.”We use everybody. It’s been very important.”

Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist had a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player’s Safety after his hit on Bruins’ Matt Grzelcyk that took him out of the remainder of the game and was sent to the hospital. Sundqvist has been suspended for Game 3. Grzelcyk is in concussion protocol and didn’t travel with the team to St. Louis.

“It’s from behind, elevated, into his head, into the glass,” former Blues captain David Backes said, according to FOX St. Louis. “If that’s a two-minute penalty, I think there’s going to be a shortage of defensemen in this series by the end of it. That’s in somebody else’s hands. That’s something I think if I’m making that hit, I’m probably watching from the bleachers for a few.”

Boston remains has favorites as they have the personnel and the experience. The Bruins franchise is looking for their seventh Stanley Cup trophy, and leaders Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak each have over 15 points this postseason.

Game 3 is Saturday at the Enterprise Stadium at 8:00 EST. Game 4 is also hosted in St. Louis before both teams travel back to Boston for Game 5.

Brad Marchand could face a disciplinary hearing on Thursday for spearing Jake Dotchin in the groin during the Boston Bruins‘ 4-0 home rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.

Brad Marchand Could Face Disciplinary Hearing for Spearing Jake Dotchin

The Bruins winger was thrown out of the game after receiving a game-misconduct and five-minute major for the dirty hit to the Lightning defenseman in the first period. Tampa Bay was unable to score on their five-minute power-play.

Here is Marchand’s hit:

The NHLDepartment of Player Safety announced Wednesday morning that Marchand will attend a hearing Thursday morning, which means additional punishment will likely follow.

The Bruins will have to hope Marchand’s possible suspension isn’t longer than two games, because then that could hurt the team’s playoff opportunities. Marchand has been of the NHL’s best offensive players this season, scoring 39 goals and adding 46 assists.

Marchand has a long suspension history: the forward has been banned four times in his career for a total of 12 games. He’s also been fined three times over the last six years, for a total amount of $17,500. His longest suspension (five games) came during the 2011-12 season, when he hit Sami Salo in the first game between the Bruins and Vancouver Canucks since their Stanley Cup Final in 2011.

BOSTON, MA – FEBRUARY 9: Justin Braun #61 of the San Jose Sharks collides with Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins during the third period at TD Garden on February 9, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins defeat the Sharks 6-3. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Tuukka Rask made 29 saves, and Brad Marchand scored on a breakaway at 2:36 of overtime to lift the Boston Bruins to a 2-1 road victory over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

Bruins Beat Sharks for Fourth Straight Win

Ryan Spooner also scored for the Bruins, who have won four consecutive games under interim coach Bruce Cassidy. Boston (30-23-6) is also third in the Atlantic Division.

“I thought we started pretty sharp,” Rask said. “We definitely had our legs in the first. They got the better of us in the second period maybe, even though we had some looks. Pretty tight game. They’re a very good team, and we had to grind it out today. We didn’t look sluggish at all.”

The Bruins also defeated the Sharks 6-3 in Boston on February 9.

Patrick Marleau scored the lone goal for the Sharks (35-18-7), who have lost six of eight games heading into their bye week. Martin Jones stopped 25 shots. The Sharks lead the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks by five points for first in the Pacific Division..

Spooner put the Bruins up 1-0 at 11:05 of the first period by picking up a rebound off the end boards and firing the puck inside the right post. Jimmy Hayes had the main assist for his 100th NHL point.

San Jose tied it with 2:23 remaining in the second when Marleau scored at 4-on-4 following roughing penalties to the Sharks’ Brenden Dillon and the Bruins’ Riley Nash. 

Torey Krug, who played in his 300th NHL game, blocked Brent Burns’ shot from above the right face-off circle, but the puck deflected to Marleau in the left circle, and he cracked a shot into a wide-open net.

Sharks forward Joonas Donskoi missed his 12th straight game with an upper-body injury.

The Bruins next visit the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, while the Sharks will visit the Vancouver on Saturday.

BOSTON, MA – FEBRUARY 9: Justin Braun #61 of the San Jose Sharks collides with Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins during the third period at TD Garden on February 9, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins defeat the Sharks 6-3. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)