Marchment reveals his strategy behind the Schaefer collision and his reaction to Barzal's retaliatory swing, admitting "probably not smart by me."
From the opening puck drop on Sunday evening, Columbus Blue Jackets' newly acquired forward, Mason Marchment, looked to be hunting the New York Islanders' rookie phenom, Matthew Schaefer.
At 18:11 of the first period, Marchment took a run at Schaefer by the penalty-box doors, earning a two-minute penalty for roughing. Schaefer was able to duck and avoid the full contact.
Then, just over a minute into the second period, Marchment sticks out his leg as Schaefer transitioned over the Islanders' blue line, sending the No. 1 overall pick down to the ice after what appeared to be knee-to-knee contact.
The referee's hand immediately went up. Ryan Pulock made a move toward Marchment, but backed off once the referee got in between them, with play still ongoing just inside the Columbus zone.
A few seconds later, Mathew Barzal took a baseball swing to Marchment's right foot, sending him down to the ice. Then, a scrum:
The referees met and eventually announced that multiple majors were under review on the play.
The result was a five-minute major and ejection for Barzal, with Marchment getting two minutes for tripping.
"We thought it was a knee-on-knee," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said postgame. "We're never going to blame a teammate going and trying to defend a teammate [...] I like the response by Barzy."
Here's what Marchment had to say.
"I'm kind of used to it by now," Marchment said. "It's part of my game to try to get in the other teams' head a little bit. You know, I was never trying to hurt him there in the middle, just get in his way. Probably not smart by me." (H/t Mark Scheig).
The Islanders are completely okay with Barzal's antics toward Marchment, but it's obviously not ideal to lose such a critical offensive weapon for the final 38:23 on the second night of a back-to-back.
We'll see what the NHL's Department of Player Safety decides to do, but don't be shocked if Barzal is forced to miss their game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
Because Marchment's "trip" on Schaefer was reviewed for a major, the belief is that he could face supplementary discipline -- but don't be shocked if he gets nothing.