Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman said his team wants to be piss and vinegar every game, while their division rival in Toronto based much of their off-season signings on the same. Adam Proteau compares the clubs.

The NHL is a world in which abrasive play is regarded as a positive. Time and again, we’ve seen teams thrive when they play a physically robust game, and this season is no different with three words coming up repeatedly: "piss and vinegar." 

The latest example of it is the comments made by Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who told reporters Sunday that “(w)e don’t care who we play, when we play them, we want to be piss and vinegar every time.”

That approach has worked wonders for the Bruins in recent years, with corrosive competitors such as captain Brad Marchand walking the fine line between heavy-handed penalty-taker and high-impact physical force. 

As always, the NHL’s teams try to mirror what they believe is a winning attitude and system, which is why Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving told reporters prior to the season that he wanted to bring more “snot” to the Leafs’ game. Treliving put his salary cap money where his mouth is, adding forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Ryan Reaves in the off-season to make the Buds a tougher team to play against.

Reaves has been largely ineffective in limited action – he’s been injured since Dec. 14 – but Bertuzzi has settled in nicely on Toronto’s second line of forwards as someone very willing to take a hit to make a play. But the Leafs have received some unexpected solid physical play from free agent signing Simon Benoit. The 25-year-old blueliner was not on the radar of Leafs fans prior to the start of the season, but in a short sample size, he’s been an effective D-man who isn’t shy about making body contact with opponents.

Similarly, the Leafs have got a boost from fourth-line energy role player Bobby McMann, who also isn’t afraid of playing a physical game. And first-line winger Matthew Knies made headlines recently when he got into a fight with Pittsburgh’s John Ludvig after Ludvig plowed into Leafs forward Max Domi. It was a welcome sight for Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe to see one of his players stand up for another one of his players, and it sent a notice – there are Leafs willing to engage in physical combat to win games.

Make no mistake, the Bruins are also a tough team to battle with. They’ve got physical competitors in defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo, and forwards Marchand, Trent Frederic and Jakub Lauko. Not all of them will stand out in highlight reels in any given game, but Boston coach Jim Montgomery employs each of them to create an attack that punishes opponents for getting near Bruins players.

Time will tell whether Boston is a more physical group than Toronto, but we reckon both the Bruins and Leafs will try to add “piss, vinegar and snot” before the NHL trade deadline passes. The Stanley Cup playoffs reward teams that wear down opponents, and that physical approach is often exactly what’s called for when games matter most.