Marchand comes clean about his Panthers intermission snack — and it wasn't Dairy Queen
Brad Marchand has come clean.
No, the veteran forward was not eating a Dairy Queen Blizzard in the Florida Panthers' dressing room during the second intermission of the team's eventual 6-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final.
So what was on the spoon that cameras caught him with during the intermission?
'Honey,' Marchand said after Florida's morning skate Monday.
The Dairy Queen in question during his postgame interview on SportsNet — specifically his chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard — was from a trip with a few teammates while they were in Raleigh, North Carolina, for the first two games of the series.
'I was kind of making a joke,' Marchand said. 'I think people took it seriously. The amount of messages I got about people going to Dairy Queen yesterday — I appreciate the support. I love a good Blizzard more than anybody, but it's not something I've had in the middle of a game ... yet.'
As for the honey? There's a story behind that, too.
'I've always loved honey,' Marchand said. 'Actually, when I was growing up, I loved Winnie the Pooh. So I used to have a Winnie the Pooh bear and I would feed him honey. It was covered — covered — and rock hard. I've always enjoyed it.'
So the tale of Marchand with the Panthers continues. He's been stellar on the ice for Florida, entering Game 4 against the Hurricanes with 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 15 games. He quickly integrated into the team culture as well, so much so that the team shoots rubber rats at him on the ice after wins.
He knows how to draw a crowd. That's been known throughout his 16-year NHL career.
And nothing is changing now.
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