Maple Leafs reflect on Brad Marchand’s ‘unbelievable’ antics after Game 3

Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand engineered a Game 3 performance that will perhaps last forever in the minds of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Marchand authored a two-goal, three-assist performance, leading the Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the Maple Leafs in Game 3. He was the game’s best player — if you want to make an argument in Jeremy Swayman’s favour, we won’t push back — but his theatrics away from the puck certainly caught the Maple Leafs’ attention.

During Boston’s first goal, Marchand got tangled with Tyler Bertuzzi in the neutral zone while Trent Frederic raced down and beat Ilya Samsonov with a speculative shot into the corner. Many believed Marchand should’ve been penalized and it was a major talking point long after the final whistle sounded.

“He gets calls. It’s unbelievable actually, how it goes,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Marchand’s antics post-game. “We’ve got to fight through that stuff. I don’t think there’s another player in this series that 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 it but he does. It’s an art and he’s elite at it.”

Marchand lives for the drama and elevated his game after Frederic’s goal. He registered the primary assist on Jake DeBrusk’s power play tally, getting away from Mitch Marner to get a shot on net before DeBrusk banged in the rebound. Bertuzzi equalized the contest midway through the third period but Marchand responded 28 seconds later with the go-ahead goal, a perfectly-placed shot that Ilya Samsonov barely even saw. He finished his standout Game 3 with an empty net marker to punctuate the victory.

“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 bulls---. Just play hard and make him (less) effective,” Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies told The Athletic’s Chris Johnston post-game.

It’s a long series but it could come to an abrupt close if the Maple Leafs can’t remain disciplined around Boston’s captain.