Bruins’ Brad Marchand week-to-week with upper-body injury

Boston Bruins head coach Joe Sacco has announced on Tuesday that winger Brad Marchand is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

Marchand sustained the injury early in the first period of Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins when Pierre-Olivier Joseph checked him hard into the boards as both players were making a play on the puck. He was announced out for the rest of that game shortly after, and then was also left out of the lineup for Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild.

The severity of the injury remained unknown until Sacco’s announcement on Tuesday, although a week-to-week timeline does leave Marchand’s return up in the air. It’s likely that he returns before the playoffs, but how close to it is still a mystery, which could have an impact on whether a struggling Bruins team makes it to the playoffs or not.

Marchand’s injury also likely puts an end to the trade rumours surrounding him as Friday’s trade deadline approaches. It wasn’t likely that he was being dealt considering his importance to the Bruins organization and how close to a playoff spot they still remain, but with one year left on Marchand’s eight-year deal with a $6.125 million cap hit, there was a possibility that Boston looked for a move. Marchand was ranked 43rd on Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli’s most recent Trade Targets piece.

Marchand has been struggling with production a bit more than usual for him, as he has just 21 goals and 26 assists for 47 points in 61 games this season. That would have put him on pace for 62 points before his injury, his lowest point total since 2015-16 before he broke out as an elite winger in the league.

The Bruins currently sit in 7th in the Atlantic Division with a 28-26-8 record, but are still four points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston will look to snap a stretch of six losses in seven games when they host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST.