Pat Maroon can have a big impact on Bruins-Maple Leafs series

“I’ve been on the power play since I stepped foot in this league,” the hulking winger said the other day, asked if he figured he’d be appointed a PP role when being dealt to the Bruins from the Wild at the March 8 trade deadline. “So I’m used to it.”

Long ago, in his early days with the Ducks, the now-36-year-old Maroon rolled out on the No. 1 unit, usually in the bumper (pass/shoot) role, working with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Elite company for a kid who toiled five years in the AHL and was in his mid-20s when he finally got his crack at The Show.

In Edmonton, prior to winning the Cup for the first time with St. Louis (2019), Maroon was on the Oilers’ second power-play unit, camped at the net front, providing relief for Milan Lucic. Had Lucic’s circumstances played out differently with the Bruins this season, it’s fair to assume that he’d occupy the net-front role now, and Maroon probably wouldn’t be wearing Black and Gold. Who knows, Maroon might be in a Leafs sweater right now. The margins in the game, like the play at the net, are narrow and forever changing.

There’s no telling what impact Maroon will prove to have on the Bruins’ postseason run. He is very much a throwback in today’s game, a classic big man in a game full of 5-11 speedy kids, but one still with ample footspeed to support a meaningful forecheck. Also one with sufficient width of shoulder and hip to bang his way down low and make himself a pain in the neck for goaltenders and penalty-killing defensemen.

“Be a good screen, be a bad goalie,” said Maroon, summing up his role around the blue paint. “Recover pucks on rebounds for second and third chances, when [the puck] comes to me, have good hands.”

For a guy with three Cup rings, there is decidedly a chip on Maroon’s shoulder. It’s as obvious as his game, straight ahead, no frills, no need for Freudian interpretation.

“I have good hands, right, that I think a lot of people don’t give me credit for,” noted Maroon. “I’ve done well in this league. Everyone just looks at me like I’m some plug, but, I just think I have good hands, good vision, when the puck comes to me I’ve got to act quick, make good decisions and be utilized that way.”

Rarely in today’s sports industry, hockey or otherwise, does…