By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
Bruins winger Brad Marchand wanted to put on a show for Conor McGregor.
“He’s an incredible guy,” Marchand said. “Very energetic, but he was humble. He was very happy to be here, he expressed that, he was very engaged with everyone, he was a great person. It was an honor to meet him, it was great to have him here.
“The whole city enjoyed it, we enjoyed it, it’s something we will remember.”
And with the puck on his stick in a 2-1 overtime win over the Blue Jackets, Boston’s favorite pest found the perfect opportunity to give McGregor something to remember from his first hockey game, busting out the signature McGregor walk following No. 63’s game-winner scored against the Jackets’ Joonas Korpisalo.
One Notorious celly.@Bmarch63 | #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/wLSEGq1aKT
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 17, 2019
“I was hoping to score just to do it, I knew that before the game,” Marchand admitted. “It’s not every day you have an icon like that in the room with that presence. I was just having a little fun with it.”
The goal also happened about 50 feet in front of McGregor, as the UFC star stood at the zamboni entrances throughout the third period and overtime, and was extremely animated with each B’s possession in the attacking zone.
Conor McGregor is up against the glass, wielding two hockey sticks and cheering the Bruins on. Seems to be enjoying his first NHL game.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) March 17, 2019
Just did a jumbotron spot where he's hugging Blades and yelling "Boston Strong, baby" into the camera as Dropkick Murphy's play over the PA. He's also banging the sticks together like he's Deadpool, so. https://t.co/nNh8G7ugh1
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) March 17, 2019
And while it’s unclear if McGregor saw the Marchand celebration in full — he was jumping up and down like a maniac and pounding the glass as soon as the goal crossed the line — there’s no doubt he appreciated a fitting end to a night that began with him in the Boston locker room giving the Black and a Gold a pregame pump-up speech.
All in all, not a bad night for McGregor’s first NHL game.