What we learned: Brad Marchand shines in early return

Brad Marchand returned with a bang.

Thursday’s tilt against the Detroit Red Wings saw Marchand’s surprise return to the lineup a month ahead of his initial recovery timeline. Following double-hip surgery in the off-season, the veteran winger was originally projected for a post-Thanksgiving return to the Bruins’ lineup.

“They told me it was going to be end of November,” Marchand said before his season debut on Thursday. “I was like, ‘It’s not going to be the end of November.’”

It didn’t take long for Marchand to tally his first point of the season, figuring on Charlie Coyle’s second goal of the year at 13:42 of the first period. Coyle jumped off the bench, stickhandled his way through the Red…