As their first-round playoff series with the Maple Leafs shifts to the hockey powder keg that is Toronto, the Boston Bruins, and more specifically, captain Brad Marchand, aren’t about to set it off.
Before the Boston Bruins boarded their plane to Toronto on Tuesday, Brad Marchand had nothing but praise for the Maple Leafs, who tied the series at a game-a-piece with a 3-2 win in Game 2.
“They’re playing a really tight playoff game right now,” Marchand said of the Bruins’ bitter rival, who is known more for their run-and-gun offense than playoff-style hockey. “They’re built different than in the past years. They’re playing a lot more physical, and they’re very committed to forechecking and they’re playing very tight defensively. So you gotta give them credit. They’re one of the top teams for a reason, and when you add their offensive ability on top of that, they’re a tough team to play right now. We’re seeing it. Even in the first game, it was a different game than the [final] score.”
Wait what? Brad Marchand said that? The Brad Marchand, who, in previous playoff series with the Maple Leafs, had no problem talking trash about and licking the notoriously soft Maple Leafs?
Yes, that Marchand, and he wasn’t done heaping praise on a Toronto squad that finally seems ready to play in the mud of a Stanley Cup Playoffs series.
“They’re competing hard,” Marchand went on. “They’re getting numbers to pucks and coming out with more loose pucks, which is making it easier to break out and harder for us to attack the net. So we have to just win more battles down there.”
Marchand’s resistance to bite on handing the Maple Leafs any bulletin board material is a reflection of his play as well. Former Bruins and current Maple Leafs winger Tyler Bertuzzi, as well as his linemate Max Domi, have repeatedly tried to goad Marchand into the fray.
While Marchand has done a good job of keeping his cool, he knows that he and his teammates need to do more than just avoid the shenanigans against what will be an upstart Leafs team and a rocking Scotiabank Arena for Game 3 (Wednesday) and Game 4 (Saturday).
“We have to continue to be better,” Marchand, who had three assists in the first two games, said. “We know it’s a very tight playoff series. We knew it was going to be a battle, and they showed up. They’re playing for keeps, so it’s a good challenge.”
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