Rivalry Renewed
When last these two teams met – a 3-2 shootout victory for the Bruins on Nov. 2 in Boston – there was a bit of bad blood after the Maple Leafs took exception to a collision in the corner between B’s captain Brad Marchand and Toronto defenseman Timothy Liljegren (there was no penalty on the play). The lack of response from the Leafs led to criticism from Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe and a team meeting to address the incident.
“They usually are a competitive team that plays fast and plays their game,” said Marchand. “That’s one of those things that happens quick in the moment. Their coach is being emotional and trying to get them to be there for one another and compete. That’s what good teams do. They do that.
“There wasn’t a response because it wasn’t a bad play. It’s one of those things that happens fast in a game. You get tied up and try to battle for positioning on a puck and things happen. Clearly, no one thought it was a big deal. They made it out as something.
“Unfortunately, when you allow that stuff to leak into the media and out of the room, it creates more drama than is necessary. That’s kind of what happened in that situation. They’ve got a lot of guys who compete and work hard over there. We’re expecting a good, competitive game, just like every night against them.”
Toronto tough guy Ryan Reaves could be seen jawing at Marchand from the bench following the corner collision on Nov. 2 and is subbing back into the lineup on Saturday night after being a healthy scratch in five of the last seven games. Reaves told the Toronto media on Saturday morning that Marchand likes to chirp him about making more money than he does.
“I think I said that once a long time ago, sounds like he’s holding on to it,” said Marchand. “He’s one of those guys that brings physicality to their group. He’s made a great career out of it. It seems like there’s always a good rivalry with this team. That stems from playing each other in playoffs a few times. Both teams have been very good for a while. It’s always a fun game to play.”
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said that if the Leafs decide to target Marchand, they’ll be ready.
“I don’t think it’s any different than the Florida game when they were targeting Charlie [McAvoy as retribution for his hit on Oliver Ekman-Larson],” he said. “So, we’re gonna stick together and we’re gonna play together out there.”
