Marchand is the little big man Leafs can’t handle
Brad Marchand is six inches shorter than Auston Matthews, some 50 pounds lighter than Ryan Reaves, with a heart about the size of Zdeno Chara.
And none of that is an exaggeration in any way.
There really hasn’t been much to choose from between the Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins after three games in this Stanley Cup playoff series — the teams are seemingly that close — except the Bruins have this magnificent, intelligent, pugnacious, instinctual leader who changes games and teams and circumstances and the talent-heavy Leafs have no one like Marchand at all.
“Playoff hockey is about moments and seconds and tiny mistakes that lead to goals,” said Charlie Coyle in the Boston dressing room after a 4-2 victory over the Leafs on Wednesday night. “The way (Marchand) keeps us engaged is special. He leads us in the locker-room. He leads us in practice. He leads us on the ice. He led us tonight.”
Where to begin with the essence of Marchand from Game 3 of this playoff series. With the score tied 1-1 and time running out in the second period, it was Marchand who initiated the lagging of the puck in the final seconds of the period, leading to a Boston power play on fresh ice to start the third period.
Boston got the puck and rather than give it up, it killed the final seconds of the period. Marchand was barking out instructions and all but pointing from the ice about what to do and how to do it.
He then came out for the third period, suddenly on the power play and set up Jake Debrusk to take a 2-1 lead. Marchand went on to score the game winning goal at even strength some 10 minutes later and then hit the goal post on the empty net in the final minute of play, and followed up that shot by putting the rebound in the empty net.
Two goals for the 35-yearold Marchand. One assist. At least 40 seconds of puck lagging. He did everything in Game 3 but sing the national anthem.
The Maple Leafs have incredible skill. They scored almost 40 goals more than the Bruins during the season but now they are playing without 55 of those goals with William Nylander and Bobby Mcmann out with the unexplained ailments. Boston is playing without two of its regular defencemen. This is what happens at playoff time every year every team: You play with what you have and who you have and under the circumstances necessary.
And this is where the Brad Marchands of the hockey world, the leaders who intrinsically understand leadership, become the players who change series.
This series means so much to Marchand because everything about hockey means so much to him. He’s played for a Stanley Cup winner, for the NHL team with the best record in history, for a gold-medal winning team in the world junior championship and a gold-medal team at the World Cup of hockey. And he’s playing in the feature game on Hockey Night In Canada, against the team he grew up loving: So much now on the line for him and the Bruins, now ahead two games to one in the series.
“It’s a gift to play in this league,” said Marchand. “This is something we dream about as kids. I’ve talked to my kids about that. I kind of woke up with gratitude (of playing here). We want to make the most of it.”