Brad Marchand has been more balanced now that he's wearing the 'C' Apr 24, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand (63) trips up Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi (59) during the second period of game three of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA1OTgyNTg2OTk5MTU0MDEw/usatsi_23105970.jpg] Apr 24, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand (63) trips up Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi (59) during the second period of game three of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. The Maple Leafs have a rodent problem. And its name is Brad Marchand. Call him a rat if you like. Or a pest. Or a thousand other insults based on his shift-disturbing play. But for more than a decade now, Marchand has been a plague on the city of Toronto. And once again, he’s costing the Leafs a playoff series. In Game 1, Marchand pestered Max Domi into taking undisciplined penalties. In Game 3, he turned his attention to Tyler Bertuzzi and the result was more of the same. Marchand, who scored twice and picked up a pair of assists in a 4-2 win on Wednesday, was a nuisance in the worst possible way as the Boston Bruins took a 2-1 series lead against the Leafs. “He’s a world-class player — both in his ability and in how he plays,” said Keefe. “Everything is world class. He’s been in the league long enough, you can see he gets calls. It’s unbelievable, actually, how it goes. But we’ve got to play through that. We’ve got to 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 he does. There’s not another player in this series that gets away with that. You know, it’s an art. And he’s elite at it.” Keefe’s back-handed sort of compliment illustrates just how serious the level of infestation that Toronto has on its hands. This is not a new problem for the Leafs. Back in 2013, former coach Randy Carlyle couldn’t exterminate Marchand from the scoresheet. Mike Babcock twice failed in 2018 and 2019 to rid himself of Marchand. And now, with the Leafs trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, Keefe looks like an exterminator who is running out of ways in which to trap a “world-class” rodent who continually outsmarts the opposition. “You’ve got to play through it,” said Keefe. This is the game within the game that Marchand plays so well. In Game 1, he was living rent-free inside Domi's head. After goading Bertuzzi into taking a slashing penalty in Game 2, he had Bertuzzi distracted from the moment the puck was dropped on Wednesday night. Again, you can call Marchand a rat. But at the age of 35, his most annoying trait remains his fierce competitiveness. And his ability to straddle the line. He’s no longer the immature guy who gets suspended for crossing the line and licking his enemies. He’s now a captain. And like Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron before him, he’s leading by example — in the only way that Marchand knows how. “It’s not a given that you get an opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs,” said Marchand. “I kind of woke up with that gratitude, of being excited, understanding that it’s a gift to play in this league. I think the playoffs is something we dream about as kids … we’re lucky to be here and I want to make the most of this opportunity.” If Marchand was feeling grateful, he had a funny way of showing it. On the morning of Game 3, Marchand arrived to the rink in a bit of a mood. But before he took it out on the Leafs, he directed that anger towards his teammates in what looked like anything but a meaningless morning skate. “He started barking the first drill three minutes early,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. “He goes, ‘Let’s go!’ ” Several hours later, Marchand took over in a way that only he knows how — with his offensive ability and his ability to get under the skin of his opponents. “He’s always risen to big moments,” said Montgomery. “If you look at his career points in the playoffs, it’s like ‘Wow.’ ” Indeed, Marchand has scored 52 points in 53 regular-season games against the Leafs. But in the playoffs, he’s done even more damage, having scored nine goals and 28 points in 24 games. It was Marchand who assisted on the OT goal in that come-from-behind Game 7 win against the Leafs in 2013 when the Bruins were down 3-1 in the third period. In 2018, Marchand had a goal and an assist in another do-or-die Game 7 win against Toronto. The following season, he had four goals and nine points in seven games in another first-round win against the Leafs. So far this year, Marchand has two goals and six points in three games. Half of those points came in a pivotal Game 3 on Wednesday, where Marchand set the tone both with his offensive ability and his ability to get away with things most others cannot. There was the game-winning goal, of course, in which Marchand tucked a wrist shot into a puck-sized opening in the top corner of the net. And the empty-netter, which put the game out of reach. But it is the extracurricular stuff, like the uncalled stick-between-the-legs on Bertuzzi, that has been causing the Leafs to get distracted from playing their game. As Keefe said, it’s an “art.” And it's a big reason why this series is tilted in Boston's favor.“Through his play and emotionally, he’s our leader,” said Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy. “He drags us into the fight every night. And it’s on us to follow right behind him close." Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [https://info.thehockeynews.com/mail/microsites/951/1/gTeQVf?_gl=1*ustlbj*_ga*NjkyMzUxMy4xNjYzNjIwMzQ3*_ga_PK63FB1PME*MTcxMzUwOTExNi40NDguMS4xNzEzNTA5MjA5LjU5LjAuMA..].
