Brad Marchand is, well, a divisive figure in the hockey world.
On the one hand, the Boston Bruins forward is a dynamic scorer who recorded 100 points in the regular season and currently leads his team in postseason scoring.
On the other, he's a notorious pest who frequently straddles the line of fair play and gets under the skin of opponents. His tactics usually work in the Bruins' favor.
They certainly did Sunday in the team's 6-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
During the second period, Marchand appeared to hook down Hurricanes captain Justin Williams. The 37-year-old, three-time Stanley Cup winner was not having it, grabbing Marchand's face and confronting the forward. He even unbuckled Marchand's helmet during the exchange.
Marchand wisely didn't fight back, and Williams was assessed the only penalty on the play — two minutes for holding.
The longtime Bruins forward made sure Williams knew he was getting a ticket to the penalty box by pointing the Hurricanes forward in the right direction. Marchand then proceeded to mock Williams by signaling a "C" on his jersey with his hand, presumably ripping the leadership of the Hurricanes' veteran captain.
Brad Marchand draws a penalty on Justin Williams, signals for Williams to go to the penalty box and taunts him with the "C" pic.twitter.com/1UukK3ZeQt
The Bruins, who were leading 3-0 at the time, added a fourth goal on the ensuing power play en route to their big win and a 2-0 series lead.
"I’m disappointed in myself. I’m not disappointed in anything else," Williams said of the exchange that many online felt should have resulted in some type of penalty for Marchand, as well.
"I'm old enough. I should be able to know better," Williams said.
It was a big and somewhat controversial moment in a big win for the Bruins. They're now two victories away from returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2013. They last won the Stanley Cup in 2011.
Marchand — who turned 31 on Saturday — was a member of both of those teams.
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