Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was complimentary of Brad Marchand's knack for dodging the laws of hockey after the Boston Bruins' 4-2 win in Game 3 on Wednesday.
"He gets calls. It's unbelievable, actually, how it goes," Keefe said postgame. "We gotta play 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. ... It's an art, and he's elite at it."
Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi went at it on multiple occasions, including an instance in which the Bruins captain wasn't penalized for taking down his opponent behind the play right before Trent Frederic's second-period goal.
"He's a world-class player, both in ability and in how he plays," Keefe added. "The gamesmanship and everything, it's world-class."
Special teams proved to be the difference in the game. Toronto had five power-play opportunities in the contest but didn't score, while Boston went two-for-three with the man advantage.
Marchand was a force, recording two goals and an assist in the matchup. He was on the ice for a game-high 95.3% of the expected goals at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
All three of Marchand's points came in the third period. His first goal was a perfect top-corner snipe that gave the Bruins the lead 28 seconds after the Maple Leafs tied it up. It stood as the game-winner.
"I can't say enough about the leadership by our captain tonight," Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said postgame.
Marchand etched his name into the Bruins' record books in the process, passing Hall of Famer Cam Neely on the franchise's postseason game-winning goals list. He also tied Neely - Boston's current team president - for the club record for playoff goals.
Player | Playoff games | Goals | GWGs |
---|---|---|---|
Brad Marchand | 149 | 55 | 12 |
Cam Neely | 86 | 55 | 11 |
Patrice Bergeron | 170 | 50 | 10 |
Phil Esposito | 71 | 46 | 9 |
Marchand has registered 134 points in his postseason career, the second most in Bruins history and 27 back of Ray Bourque.
Boston holds a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 goes on Saturday.
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