Skating . . . and grating

Take, for instance, the affable forward’s last game with the P-Bruins Oct. 16, in which Portland’s Cody McCormick jumped over the boards after an exchange of words to cross-check him, sparking a brawl. Marchand recalled it vividly to reporters last week, all with a sheepish smile.

But this week, his first with Boston after being called up a half-hour after that Portland win, has been a learning experience on multiple fronts - not just on the speed and skill necessary, but on when to reel in the verbiage.

“There’ve been times when they’ve been pretty rattled. Just two words, and they’re all over me about it,’’ Marchand said. “Up here, they don’t take to that after the whistle.’’

And the officials say?

“Get to the bench, enough of that, get outta here, things like that,’’ he said with a laugh.

That aside, the Bruins gladly will take the 21-year-old’s energy. In his first game last Wednesday, a 3-2 win over Nashville, Marchand assisted on the Bruins’ first goal, a backhander from Michael Ryder.

He continued to provide high-octane shifts in a shootout loss at Philadelphia Thursday and a comeback shootout win over Ottawa Saturday.

“I’m not the biggest guy out there, but I’m going to be the guy out there who’s crashing the net,’’ he said. “I want to bring as much energy as I can, and make the plays here and there.’’

The Bruins added a handful of new faces last week in light of the long-term injuries to Milan Lucic (broken right index finger) and Marc Savard (broken left foot). On one end are call-ups such as Marchand and Vladimir Sobotka, eager young guys looking to make a splash; meanwhile, veterans like 32-year-old Trent Whitfield and recently acquired Daniel Paille have provided valuable experience.

There has been a looser, tighter feeling around the team, and yesterday morning’s practice at Ristuccia Arena was testament to that. Goalie Tim Thomas jokingly grappled with Byron Bitz after the forward zipped one past him late in the session; nearly an hour after practice had ended captain Zdeno Chara and Matt Hunwick were still on the ice, practicing shots on net in full gear.

“We’re missing a few key guys,’’ defenseman Derek Morris said. “We talked about it, and said we can sit on it and dwell on it and look for excuses, but it’s a good opportunity for the rest of us to play better.

“We took it upon ourselves, they came in and played great, brought a lot of energy all over the ice, and we kinda fed off that.’’

The Sabres ranked 11th and 14th in the league in 2007-08 and 2008-09, respectively, with the defensive forward on the shorthanded units.

In the three games since his arrival, the Bruins have given up just one shorthanded goal, to the Senators’ Daniel Alfredsson Saturday night.

“He helps a lot,’’ Morris said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that feed off each other, and he’s doing a good job of fitting in.’’

“Obviously, he’s the No. 1 guy, he pretty much plays whenever he wants,’’ Rask said. “I like to battle with him out there, it’s something fun to do, makes it more interesting. It’s not a game, but it’s a battle, we push each other, and I think it’s better for everybody on the team.’’