Just call him Brad “Hit Man” Marchand after physical Game 3

Marchand/By S. Bradley

BOSTON — Bruins winger Brad Marchand was credited with seven hits through two periods of tonight’s Game 3 victory.

Luckily for the Flyers, he let up in the third and didn’t record another hit. The rookie had already registered enough “kills” for the evening in Boston’s 5-1 win that gave them a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series with Philadelphia at the TD Garden.

“It was one of those games where I was angry the whole time, and my emotions kind of get the best of me, [and I was] just trying to run around and kill guys,” he explained. “So just one of those games. It’s not like that every night but tonight was one of those nights.”

Marchand was angry but smart. He avoided any extracurricular activity and didn’t receive any penalties. All he did was plant Flyers forward Ville Leino on his rear end twice on one penalty-kill shift and rock Philadelphia bones five more times, that the statisticians recorded anyway.

If his assist on the game’s opening goal just 30 seconds in didn’t set enough of a tone for the Bruins, Marchand’s physical play was electrifying and just what the team needed to keep its edge after grabbing that early lead.

Now if he can stay angry and play the same way in Game 4 Friday , he can buy him and his teammates some time to relax before the Eastern Conference finals begin.