FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Brad Marchand is setting the document straight: The Florida Panthers ahead was having fun with a spoonful of honey — not ice cream — between durations of Recreation 3 of the Jap Convention finals.
And with that, the investigation into Blizzardgate is now closed.
Marchand went viral on Saturday after telling Sportsnet reporter Kyle Bukauskas that he was having a Blizzard from Dairy Queen between the second and third durations of Florida’s recreation in opposition to the Carolina Hurricanes. There was video of Marchand utilizing a spoon to eat one thing throughout that intermission, which prompted the query.
It sparked a creamy, scrumptious controversy, one which Marchand put to relaxation on Monday.
“It was honey. I used to be having honey,” Marchand stated after Florida’s morning skate. “It was a spoonful of honey.”
Sorry, DQ. The declare that the snack was a Blizzard was frozen fib. However Marchand’s love of Blizzards apparently is actual.
“The quantity of messages I acquired about individuals going to Dairy Queen yesterday, I recognize the help,” Marchand stated. “I like an excellent Blizzard, greater than anyone. Nevertheless it’s not one thing I’ve had in the midst of a recreation — but. But. But.”
The Panthers suspected that Marchand was utilizing a little bit of succulent sarcasm.
“I do know he stated it,” coach Paul Maurice stated. “I’m simply undecided that makes it a reality.”
The sugary story began to hit the spot quickly after the sport, and there was an excellent cause. The Panthers had gotten some notoriety for visiting a Dairy Queen final week on an off day in North Carolina — one was close to the lodge the place Florida was staying for Video games 1 and a pair of in opposition to the Hurricanes, and a fan’s social media posts about seeing the Panthers having some candy treats went viral.
It was logical for Bukauskas to ask if Marchand was nonetheless getting his dessert repair in Recreation 3.
“No probability you had been fueling with a Blizzard there, had been you?” Bukauskas requested in the course of the Saturday evening change.
“Yeah, that’s just a little chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard proper there,” Marchand replied.
Now, there’s a Dairy Queen about 2.4 miles away from the Panthers’ house enviornment — and it was nonetheless open when the sport was in its second intermission Saturday. So, is it attainable that ice cream may have been despatched to the sector? Sure.
However did it occur? No. The Panthers, like all groups, have a slew of high-protein or energy-giving snacks out there for refueling between durations. And Marchand has all the time had an affinity for honey.
“I’ve all the time liked honey,” Marchand stated. “Truly, after I was rising up, I liked Winnie the Pooh. I used to have Winnie the Pooh, however I’d feed him — the bear — honey, so it was coated and rock onerous.”
His mother and father didn’t love that side of his childhood in Nova Scotia.
“I don’t assume they loved cleansing up a multitude, however yeah, I had enjoyable,” Marchand stated. “That’s what we do in Halifax. We feed teddy bears honey.”
There have been hints on Sunday that the Blizzard story was melting. Maurice didn’t debunk the story — however forged some doubt on it.
“There are cameras in every single place, man. We are able to’t get away with something anymore,” Maurice stated. “However that may be an excellent story.”
Because it seems, Marchand might have had a little bit of a motive for telling Bukauskas that it was a Blizzard. The TV-savvy Marchand seemed straight into the digital camera afterward — and hinted he would possibly wish to add a DQ sponsorship to his endorsement portfolio.
“You may’t beat it. It’s one of the best dessert on this planet,” Marchand stated. “So, I higher get a lifetime free provide of Dairy Queen now. Thanks, fellas.”
It ought to be famous that what Marchand ate between durations labored. He scored a aim within the third interval, a couple of minutes after the snack — a part of a five-goal, um, blizzard by the Panthers that sealed Saturday’s win.
___
AP NHL playoffs: and