Brad Marchand has played the game on the edge during his five years with the Boston Bruins. He crossed that edge during Thursday’s game with the New York Rangers when he slew footed forward Derick Brassard and earned a two-game ban.

Marchand’s reputation has always been shaky, so it’s not surprising to see him get the two-game ban. His discipline history includes a two-game ban in March of 2011 for hitting R.J. Umberger from behind and a five-game suspension for clipping Sami Salo in January of 2012. Additionally, he was fined $2,500 for a previous slew foot incident on Matt Niskanen in December, 2011.

He got away with a fine for the first slew foot, but Marchand couldn’t escape a suspension the second time around after Thursday’s incident with Brassard. For those who missed it, here is a clip of the incident.

Marchand will be suspended for Saturday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tuesday’s road game against Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars. He’s eligible to return for Wednesday’s road game versus the Colorado Avalanche – the last game for the Black and Gold before the All-Star Break.

Daniel Paille skated with Patrice Bergeron and Reilly Smith in Marchand’s place on the second line during Friday’s practice. Expect him to fill his spot for the next two games, while Jordan Caron will likely fill in on the fourth line with Gregory Campbell and Craig Cunningham. It’s also possible that GM Peter Chiarelli will call someone up from Providence as well.

Marchand was not penalized for his slew foot on Brassard. Later in the game, Chris Kreider committed a boarding penalty on Carl Soderberg, but that play surprisingly was not reviewed by the NHL Department of Player Safety.

Still, there’s no denying that Marchand’s reputation played a role in this and deservingly so. It also came at an ill-advised time as the Bruins are coming off their fifth straight win after their 3-0 victory over the Rangers.