Matthew Knies speaks up about Brad Marchand's embarrassing antics
Brad Marchand helped propel his Boston Bruins to a controversial Game 3 victory on the road, much to the chagrin of Matthew Knies and the Maple Leafs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs bounced back in a big way after being carefully dispatched 5-1 in the series opener. They were able to take Game 2 on the road thanks to Auston Matthews' game-winner and 3-point night, which set the Leafs up for success as they came back to Toronto and the friendly confines of Scotiabank Arena with the series levelled.
After Matthew Knies opened the scoring in Game 3, the Boston Bruins stormed back with 2 goals of their own courtesy of Trent Frederic and Jake DeBrusk. Tyler Bertuzzi tied things up in the third period but not before Brad Marchand reclaimed their 1-goal lead just 28 seconds later. Marchand would then deposit his second goal of the game into the empty-net, effectively taking back the advantage in the series.
However, as is the case with Marchand, a lot of what he does on the ice can be controversial and definitely gets under the skin of his opponents. Last night was no different as the referees missed a blatant tripping minor against the Bruins' captain just seconds before Frederic tied the game up with just 2:23 remaining in the second period.
Marchand was also seen chirping the Maple Leafs bench after scoring the empty netter, telling them "it's over in 5", meaning the Bruins' plan is to take the series 4 games to 1. However, what we do know is that Marchand is at his best when he is distracting his opponents and playing his infamous pest-style of hockey.
After the game, Knies reiterated those feelings as he let us know exactly how he felt about the veteran:
"He wants to get under our skin and influence the refs, so I think we've just got to be composed and not kind of get into that bullshit. Just play hard and make him (less) effective."
Marchand now has 55 goals and 133 points in 149 post-season games throughout his career, including 9 goals and 23 points in his last 17 games against the Maple Leafs, dating back to 2018. Stopping him is going to prove to be their toughest task to date, but if successful, it should be the blueprint to a series victory.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 25 | 505 ANSWERS Matthew Knies speaks up about Brad Marchand's embarrassing antics Can the Maple Leafs take the series despite Marchand's antics, chirps, and controversial plays? | ||
| Yes, core players HAVE to step up | 324 | 64.2 % |
| No, they don't have anyone to combat him | 181 | 35.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
