There is never a dull moment when the Leafs and Bruins square off, no matter the stakes or at what point in the season. Something always seems to happen that will catch people’s attention and will linger on for quite a long time. Their most recent encounter on March 7th was exactly that, even if it resulted in a 4-1 win for Boston. Sure there were a few spirited scraps and some eyebrow-raising moments, but it was not apparent at first what would be the talking point of the game well after it happened.
The Bruins changed that earlier this week when they posted a video on Twitter of captain Brad Marchand mic’d up during that same game which certainly caught hockey fans’ attention.
This particular highlighted the scrap that proceeded a Jake McCabe’s cross-check on Marchand where you can hear a lot of cursing directed the Leafs’ way. The mics pick up Charlie McAvoy yelling at McCabe “What are you doing? You’re gonna get suspended for that, you idiot! You clown!” Unfortunately for McAvoy, McCabe was fined $5000 for the infraction so it looks like NHL Player Safety did not think he was that big of an idiot.
Marchand was incensed at the incident and wanted to settle the score, which is precisely why he decided to set his sights on Mitch Marner. The video bleeps out a lot of what Boston’s captain said but the gist of it is that Marner was “gonna get it” and that Marchand was “coming after” him. Why Marchand decided to target Toronto’s star winger is tough to say, but it is clear that Marner was unphased by all the jabbing directed his way.
But this wasn’t the only time in the game where Marner got threatened by Marchand as another clip shows this happening before a faceoff in the neutral zone.
The microphones here pick up Marchand saying to Marner “Keep your head up tonight, kid. [McCabe] *bleep* started it, cross-checked me in the throat. You’re *bleep* getting it now.” Marner was befuddled by the threats and tried to brush it off as he responded with “Oh my god. I think you’ve lost it, dude.” Marchand was unable to exact his revenge on Marner as the latter took himself out of the picture by upsetting the hockey gods on a botched wide-open net that resulted in a high-ankle sprain. Marner has not appeared in a game since as he continues to recover from his injury and appease the gods for his crimes. Meanwhile, Marchand will have to wait a while to properly settle the score as there are no more games left this year between the two teams unless they meet up in the playoffs.
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