TORONTO — Brad Marchand had a comparatively quiet — at the least by his in-your-face requirements — begin to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Certain, the Bruins captain drew some key penalties and picked up three assists by six intervals in opposition to the Maple Leafs.
He’d additionally but to really go away his mark.
And it felt like solely a matter of time earlier than one of many NHL’s finest each with the puck on his stick, and at hockey’s darkish arts when it is not, correctly entered the fray.
The second arrived Wednesday.
Marchand scored twice, together with the winner, in a three-point efficiency as Boston picked up a 4-2 victory to seize a 2-1 lead on this first-round sequence on an evening the place the house aspect was left pissed off by a participant who’s spent a whole lot of his profession doing precisely that.
“The gamesmanship and every thing, it is world class,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe stated. “He is been within the league lengthy sufficient … he will get calls.
“It is unbelievable, really, the way it goes. We have got to play by that.”
Marchand obtained tousled with Tyler Bertuzzi within the second interval with Toronto up 1-0. A frothing Scotiabank Enviornment crowd clamouring for a penalty, the referees took no points earlier than Trent Frederic scored the tying purpose seconds later.
“I do not suppose there’s one other participant on this sequence that will get away with taking out Bertuzzi’s legs the best way that he does,” Keefe continued. “It is an artwork and he is elite at it.
“Now we have to handle our approach by that.”
Jake DeBrusk had the opposite purpose for Boston. The Bruins obtained 28 stops from Jeremy Swayman, who made 35 saves in his staff’s 5-1 victory in Recreation 1 earlier than giving strategy to crease counterpart Linus Ullmark within the Leafs’ 3-2 triumph two nights later.
“We caught with all of it sport,” Marchand stated. “We elevated to a different stage.”
Bertuzzi and Matthew Knies replied for Toronto. Ilya Samsonov made 30 saves. Leafs winger William Nylander missed a 3rd straight contest with an undisclosed harm.
Recreation 4 of the best-of-seven matchup goes Saturday. Recreation 5 is ready for Tuesday in Boston.
Moments after Toronto tied issues 2-2 within the third, after which practically grabbed the lead off a Swayman turnover, Marchand took a move from Danton Heinen and ripped a shot previous Samsonov’s ear at 11:53.
Toronto pulled its goaltender for the additional attacker with simply over two minutes to go, however Leafs captain John Tavares took a holding penalty with 64 seconds left and Marchand sealed it into the empty internet.
“He clearly needs to get underneath our pores and skin and affect the refs,” Knies stated. “We have simply obtained to be composed and never get into that bulls—.”
Tied 1-1 by 40 minutes, DeBrusk bagged his third purpose in as many video games when he scored on a person benefit 67 seconds after the restart off a Marchand rebound when the Leafs misplaced construction on their struggling penalty kill.
Toronto’s energy play came visiting the boards a couple of minutes later, however could not join regardless of a few nice possibilities for Bertuzzi, slipping to 0-for-5 on the night time and 1-for-11 within the sequence.
Bruins winger James van Riemsdyk hit the publish on a partial break halfway by the interval earlier than Bertuzzi tipped a Morgan Rielly shot off Boston defenceman Hampus Lindholm to tie the sport 2-2.
Marchand — seemingly all the time within the thick of issues right now of 12 months — responded simply 28 seconds later to present his staff a lead it might by no means give up to re-establish home-ice benefit.
The Leafs opened the scoring at 13:10 of the second when the under-fire Mitch Marner — and not using a level by two video games and the topic of intense media scrutiny — slid a move for Knies to redirect.
Samsonov stopped van Riemsdyk on one other partial break, however the Bruins tied it at 17:37 when Frederic fired his second of the sequence in off the publish.
The play unfolded as Marchand and Bertuzzi — teammates final season in Boston — obtained tousled within the impartial zone, and moments after Leafs star Auston Matthews was tackled by Charlie McAvoy.
“Bert and I get tied up one shift,” Marchand stated in making an attempt to downplay the narrative. “However outdoors of that I am not likely within the combine with something. I am simply making an attempt to play.”
“It is what he does,” Bertuzzi stated. “He is been doing it for a very long time. I do not anticipate it to cease.”
The Leafs will now look to regroup after enjoying their first house sport since April 13 — or face the tall activity of profitable three straight in opposition to an opponent that has received 9 of the final 10 conferences between the groups.
“At occasions we performed effectively,” Keefe stated. “Not effectively sufficient to get the win.”
A part of the equation was how the Leafs dealt with Marchand.
ON SCHEDULE
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery was requested a couple of playoff schedule that sees two days off on both aspect of Recreation 4.
“I’d have fairly been right here Thursday/Saturday, if I am being trustworthy,” he stated.
“I believe we’re spending extra time in Toronto than Toronto’s spending in Boston.
“And we are the house staff.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed April 24, 2024.
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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
