WEEI’s Rich Keefe is doubling down on his take that there's a problem between Bruins captain Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.

An NHL reporter covering the Bruins is refusing to back down today after Brad Marchand denied a rumor that there is a rift between himself and David Pastrnak.

Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand called a WEEI report about David Pastrnak being the center of a rift on the team "blatant lies."

The Bruins are slip-sliding away down the Atlantic Division standings with six straight losses and it's beginning to elicit narratives. Speculation is swirling that there is tension in the Bruins' locker room between star forwards Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.

The players’ comments came after WEEI’s Rich Keefe said on air, without citing a source, that Pastrnak told the team he did not want to play on a line with Marchand.

The Boston Bruins have had to do some strenuous lifting this year and are beginning to collapse under the weight of it all, as a miserable start to the second half of the season has slashed their playoff hopes in half.