Leafs coach complains that Brad Marchand gets away with dirty plays unpenalized

In case you missed it last night, the Boston Bruins managed to take a 2-1 series lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first round playoff matchup. Bruins captain Brad Marchand factored heavily into the victory, scoring two goals and three points for his team. Marchand's physical play was also a factor last night as he managed to draw calls and avoid punishment for himself.

In particular, there was an exchange with Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi where they pair got tangled up and Marchand clearly tripped Bertuzzi away from the play. The pair were going at it pretty good and ended up completely taking themselves out of the play, enabling Trent Frederic to tie things up for the Bruins.

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It was this plat that Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe cited after the game as an example of the kind of plays that Marchand gets away with unpenalized. 

"He gets calls. It's unbelievable, actually, how it goes," Keefe said on Marchand in his post-game press availability. "You've got to play through that stuff. I don't think there's another player in this series who gets away with taking out Bertuzzi's legs the way that he does. It's an art and he's elite at it.

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Things are starting to get spicy in this series!

Read below for our earlier report on this game, published last night just post-game.

He's been known for his iconic catchphrase "Holy Mackinaw" for years now, but fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs aren't likely to look back with fondness after the latest comments from beloved longtime announcer Joe Bowen. 

Bowen, who has been calling Maple Leafs games since the early 1980s, appeared to take issue with what he felt was a lack of enthusiasm by the hometown faithful at Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto for tonight's Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarter Finals between the Leafs and their historic rival Boston Bruins.

According to Bowen, the Leafs fans in attendance didn't bring the energy that he was expecting over the course of what would prove to be a 4-2 Bruins win.

He wrote the following on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account shortly after the Bruins put the finishing touches on their Game 3 victory: 

"The idea of going
To any sporting event
To support the home team is to
Be PRO ACTIVE!!!
Give the team energy when they need it Not sitting down waiting
To be REACTIVE. The players can’t say it but I will tonight’s crowd was VERY DISAPPOINTING"

Of course, home games in Toronto are known for being notoriously expensive, even for more fortunate fans. There have also been numerous callouts over the years for the atmosphere in Scotiabank Arena being far too "corporate" since die-hard fans are often priced out. 

In fact, a recent study revealed that it costs nearly $1K for a family of four to attend a Maple Leafs home game - and that's just for the price of tickets alone (in the regular season) and not counting the cost of parking, food and merchandise.

And it wasn't long before Bowen would begin encountering pushback for his comments, with many pointing toward the fact that just about everyone who can afford playoff tickets in Toronto have corporate connections. 

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