On May 14, 1995, Cam Neely scored his 55th and final postseason goal as a Bruin. It was a franchise record, one that had remained untouched since. Until Brad Marchand matched it with an empty-netter in the final minute of the Bruins’ 4-2 win over the Maple Leafs in Game 3 in Toronto Wednesday night.
Marchand, Swayman lead Bruins to Game 3 win
It was a fitting end to a victory that gave Boston a 2-1 series lead, as the captain stepped up repeatedly all night, just about putting the team on his back.
Earlier in the third period, Marchand set up the goal that gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead. Working on the power play, Marchand danced through a couple Leafs in the neutral zone to set up a clean entry. After the Bruins got set up in the offensive zone, Marchand helped dig the puck out of a board battle and fired a shot on goal that produced a juicy rebound for Jake DeBrusk to bury.
After Tyler Bertuzzi tied the game again with 8:35 remaining, Marchand got the lead back just 28 seconds later. Trent Frederic and Danton Heinen went to work on the forecheck, and Heinen eventually centered for Marchand, who ripped a shot over Ilya Samsonov’s shoulder for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
It wasn’t just the three points, either. Marchand landed a game-high six shots on goal. He won battles all over the ice, all game long. He led all Bruins forwards with over four minutes of shorthanded ice time, playing a big role on a Boston penalty kill that went a perfect 5-for-5. The Bruins dominated every time he was on the ice, out-attempting the Leafs 19-5 during his 5-on-5 shifts and outscoring them 2-0.
Along with goalie Jeremy Swayman, Marchand was the most impactful player on the ice, whether you go by the eye test, the basic stats or the advanced analytics, as illustrated in the graph below.
“I can’t say enough about the leadership by our captain tonight,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery told NESN after the game.
Linemate Charlie Coyle elaborated a little more.
“In every way possible, I think,” Coyle said when asked how Marchand set the tone. “His play, yeah, that’s one, him chipping in scoring-wise. But battling, not backing down, and his leadership on the bench, the way he talks and the way he keeps us engaged in that given situation, whatever it calls for. He’s always on top of that. It goes beyond his play on the ice, which was exceptional tonight. It’s on the bench, in the locker room, and his all-around leadership and character.”
And the cherry on top of a truly Marchandian night? He got under the Leafs’ skin and drew the ire of their coach, Sheldon Keefe. On the Bruins’ first goal of the night – scored by Trent Frederic – Marchand got tangled up in a prolonged battle with Bertuzzi right before the goal that ended with Marchand getting his stick in Bertuzzi’s skates and Bertuzzi dropping to the ice looking for a call. The refs let the whole wrestling match go and Frederic scored seconds later. Keefe wasn’t happy about it.
“He gets calls. It’s unbelievable, actually, how it goes,” Keefe said of Marchand. “But we’ve 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. There’s not another player in this series that gets away with that, but he does. It’s an art, and he’s elite at it.”
Let the games begin. It’s not really a playoff series until one of the coaches starts to publicly work the refs. And of course it’s Marchand who inspired such a comment.
Fittingly, it was Marchand and Bertuzzi battling again right before Marchand’s empty-netter. Marchand won that battle, too, cutting Bertuzzi off as he tried to exit the corner, which freed the puck up for David Pastrnak. Pastrnak hit the outside of the net, but Marchand won the race to the rebound and tucked it in.
Ballgame and a series lead for the Bruins. History for Marchand. Frustration for the Leafs. Game 4 coming up on Saturday.