Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi have been going at it in the Bruins-Maple Leafs first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, both verbally and physically.
Marchand and Bertuzzi could be seen jawing at each other on several occasions across the first two tilts of the best-of-seven set, which the longtime rivals split at TD Garden. But in Wednesday night’s Game 3, we saw the war of words add some chippiness.
Late in the second period at Scotiabank Arena, Bertuzzi and Marchand engaged in a slashing battle that saw both forwards take turns tumbling to the ice near Toronto’s blue line. The skirmish opened a clear path for Trent Frederic, who skated in alone and beat Ilya Samsonov’s stick side for a game-tying goal.
The tally lit a spark for the Bruins, who went on to win 4-2 and take a 2-1 series lead. But after the game, Bertuzzi dumbed down Marchand’s impact on the game-changing sequence.
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“Yeah, I mean, that stuff is going to happen with anyone,” Bertuzzi told reporters, per a team-provided video. “So, it’s just normal.”
The hard-nosed left wing, who spent the second half of last season in Boston, also knows what to expect from Marchand moving forward.
“I mean, he’s a great player. It’s what he does,” Bertuzzi told reporters. “He’s been doing it for a long time. So, I don’t expect it to stop.”
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Sheldon Keefe was far more unsettled by what went down before Frederic’s goal. The Maple Leafs head coach thought Marchand should have been penalized for “taking out Bertuzzi’s legs” as “not one other player in this series” would’ve made it out of the sequence without punishment from referees.
Toronto’s composure will be tested Saturday night when it tries to avoid going on the brink of elimination in its own building. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET.
Featured image via John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports Images
