The Maple Leafs are officially complaining about Brad Marchand
It took just three games, and one hell of a Game 3 performance to give his team a 2-1 series lead, but Bruins captain Brad Marchand has officially wormed his way inside the walls of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In a game that saw Marchand score the game-winning goal just 28 seconds after Tyler Bertuzzi tied things up in the third period and bury the empty-net dagger, Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe was seemingly at a breaking point when it came to his feelings on Marchand.
Keefe’s frustration seemed to boil over with what happened on Boston’s first goal of the evening, as Marchand and Bertuzzi were tangled up in a one-on-one agitate-off that culminated with Marchand taking Bertuzzi out.
“He gets calls,” Keefe said of Marchand. “It’s unbelievable, actually, how it goes, you know? We’ve got to play through that stuff. I don’t think there’s another player in this series who gets away with taking out Bertuzzi’s legs the way that he does. There’s not one other player in this series that gets away with that. But he does. It’s an art, and he’s elite at it.”
“It’s an art, and he’s elite at it.” -Sheldon Keefe on Brad Marchand getting away with things 👀 pic.twitter.com/Z1xOQV3m3F
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 25, 2024
Of course, Keefe could be talking about Marchand ‘getting away’ with penalties, but it’s also worth noting that Marchand did not draw any sort of penalty in Boston’s Game 3 victory. In fact, the Maple Leafs had a run of four straight penalty calls that went their way, and finished the game with five power-play opportunities compared to just two for the Bruins. The Maple Leafs also landed just three shots on Jeremy Swayman’s cage over the course of their five power-play opportunities.
But Keefe wasn’t the only Maple Leaf complaining about No. 63 after the loss.
“He wants to get under our skin and influence the refs, so I think we’ve just got to be composed and not kind of get into that bullshit,” the Leafs’ Matthew Knies said after the loss. “Just play hard and make him (less) effective.”
Again, it is worth mentioning that Marchand did not draw a single penalty in the winning effort.
“You got to recognize he’s a world-class player both in ability and how he plays with the gamesmanship and everything,” Keefe said of Marchand. “It’s world-class.”
The great irony here is that what Keefe is doing could be described as gamesmanship. It’s not too dissimilar from what then-Blues head coach Craig Berube did during the 2019 Stanley Cup Final when he openly complained about the penalties, or what Barry Trotz did regarding Patrice Bergeron and his alleged ‘cheating’ on faceoffs during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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At the same time, however, there’s no denying that the Maple Leafs have also played right into Marchand’s hands.
Max Domi has had a hair across his ass for Marchand throughout the first three games of this series, and Bertuzzi has yet to skate away from any sort of confrontation with Marchand. Free will does exist for these players, and it’s perhaps the best way to minimize the impact an emotionally-driven talent such as Marchand has on this series.
Instead, the Leafs appeared to wake Marchand up in Game 3, and are now complaining about the impact it can have on this series.
3 Stars: Brad Marchand puts Bruins on his back for Game 3 win
Third Star: Trent Frederic
Apr 24, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic (11) skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period of game three of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. (John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports)
Wednesday night in Toronto featured a milestone of sorts for the Bruins’ Trent Frederic, as he scored his second career playoff goal, but his first on actual goaltender after scoring an empty-net goal in Boston’s Game 1 win.
Trent Frederic quickly ties it up for the Bruins! 🐻 pic.twitter.com/zXBhF3b83A
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2024Frederic’s goal was definitely one that Toronto netminder Ilya Samsonov should’ve stopped, but Frederic’s ability to keep playing while Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi were engaged in some blue line chaos (which almost appeared to make the Leafs stop playing) and stun the Leafs in that moment was a gigantic goal for the Bruins in that moment.
Frederic also came through with some absolute fantastic work behind the Leaf net on Brad Marchand’s game-winning goal, even if it didn’t come with an assist for No. 11.
Second Star: Jeremy Swayman
Apr 24, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) makes a save on Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi (59) during the third period of game three of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports)
After making 35 saves in Boston’s Game 1 win and then watching from the bench in Game 2, Jeremy Swayman was given the nod for a Game 3 showdown with the Maple Leafs, and dazzled once again, this time with a 28-of-30 effort.
Swayman remained his calming presence in goal, too, even with pure chaos around him throughout the night, as the Maple Leafs continued to drive to high-danger areas. Swayman was especially impressive from that area in the third period of play, with Toronto throwing the kitchen sink at him in search of the putaway and/or game-tying markers.
And as was the case in Game 1, Swayman’s ability to track the puck through traffic and come through with key puck freezes has been perhaps his biggest strength in this series. It’s downright flustering the Leafs, too, as you’re seeing them look skyward after every near-goal and cover by a sprawling Swayman. All while he’s just smilin’ and remaining true to who he’s been throughout this season, even with the pressure at its highest.
Through two starts this series, the 25-year-old Swayman has turned aside 22 of the 25 high-danger shots he’s faced at all-situation play, according to NaturalStatTrick.
First Star: Brad Marchand
Apr 24, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand (63) carries the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period of game three of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports)
If you were scrolling Twitter/X on Wednesday night, there’s no dancing around the fact that sometime around the midway point of Game 3, the rumbling and grumbling around Brad Marchand and his play was getting a little loud. It just didn’t feel like Marchand was giving the Bruins enough at the offensive end of the rink. Especially when you’ve watched him all year and seen the way he can flip a game on its head like it’s nothin’.
But yet another tie-up with the Leafs’ Tyler Bertuzzi may have done enough to woke a sleeping 5-foot-9 giant, as it not only led to Boston’s first goal of the evening, but activated Marchand’s full ‘sicko mode’, with the Boston captain on the ice for all four of the Black and Gold’s goals in the comeback victory.
It was all timely, too, with Marchand’s game-winning tally coming just 28 seconds after Bertuzzi tied things up, while his empty-net goal came after yet another dust-up with Bertuzzi.
