Brad Marchand’s historic performance powers Bruins to Game 3 win
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Brad Marchand’s historic performance powers Bruins to Game 3 win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
When the Boston Bruins needed it most, their captain stepped up and delivered a great performance in the clutch.
Game 3 of the first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series between the Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night could have gone either way. The two teams exchanged one-goal leads a couple times in a hard-fought contest that saw a combined eight penalties, 133 hits and 42 blocked shots.
It was a classic playoff matchup between two rivals that don’t like each other one bit.
The game was there to be won in the third period, and that’s when Marchand took control with two goals and one assist over the final 20 minutes of action to carry the Bruins to a 4-2 victory.
“That’s a leader. That’s our leader. He’s a captain through and through,” Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman told reporters postgame. “He doesn’t take no for an answer. He leads by example. He’s the pinnacle of what a captain should be and we’re so lucky to have him in this room.”
The first point came on Jake DeBrusk’s power-play goal 67 into the third period. The power play has been a huge weapon for the Bruins through three games, and Marchand has factored into all five of Boston’s tallies (one goal, four assists) with the man advantage.
The Leafs, to their credit, didn’t go away in the third period. They kept attacking and finally equalized when Tyler Bertuzzi evened the score at two with a deflection at 11:25 of the frame. It didn’t take Boston long to regain the lead — just 28 seconds, in fact — thanks to Marchand.
On the very next shift, the Bruins captain took a pass from Danton Heinen and fired a perfect shot above Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov’s left shoulder and into the net, giving his team a 3-2 advantage.
Marchand didn’t just contribute offensively in Game 3. He also played 4:14 on the penalty kill, a unit that went a perfect 5-of-5 against the star-studded Leafs power…
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