BOSTON -- Vancouver Canucks right winger Brandon Prust said it was "money well spent" after he was fined $5,000 for spearing Bruins forward Brad Marchand in the groin during Boston's 4-0 win Saturday at Rogers Arena.
Marchand responded to Prust's comments after Boston's morning skate Monday, ahead of the Bruins' 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators at TD Garden.
"Part of my game is to get under people's skin, and I thought he played with a lot more class in his game," Marchand said. "Clearly, he doesn't have that integrity that a lot of people thought he had."
Prust said he didn't hit Marchand that hard and thought he sold it pretty good.
"I think if anyone's ever been hit in that spot, they know it doesn't feel good and it hurts for a while," Marchand said. "It doesn't take a whole lot to get hurt in that area, and whatever he wants to say, he got me pretty good."
Asked why so many NHL players use their stick to target the groin area, Marchand said everyone does it.
"Clearly, it doesn't feel good and it hurts," Marchand said. "Whenever you're upset at someone or you want to take a shot, it's an easy place to target and you know it's going to hurt, so that's why a lot of guys do it."
Added Marchand: "There are a lot of good players that take jabs at guys, so people can say whatever they want. I'm not overly upset about what happened. I've done it, and I'm sure he's done it before and I'm sure it won't be the last. It won't be the last time I do it. It's part of hockey."
Marchand admitted he had said something to Prust earlier in the game that could have sparked the incident. Marchand also said he wouldn't have been upset if Prust wasn't fined for his actions.
"I wouldn't want him to lose that much money over what happened," Marchand said. "I think suspensions are worthy when guys get hurt or if it's a really bad shot, but I've done it before and lots of guys do that all the time. It's part of the game."