Gritty Maple Leafs winger Tyler Bertuzzi took a slashing penalty against former Bruins teammate Brad Marchand in Game 2 of the two Original Six franchises’ opening round of the Stanley Cup playoff series.
Bertuzzi entered the series looking forward to the opportunity to “shut down” his former team and was seen chirping with Marchand at center ice after the Leafs defeated the Bruins on Monday night to even the best-of-seven series at 1-1.
“That’s between me and Brad,” Bertuzzi told reporters when asked about the conversation, per the Leafs. “I’ll stick with my word. It’s playoff hockey. It’s going to keep going.”
The 29-year-old may not want to divulge the trash talk between the two agitators, but it’s highly unlikely they were wishing each other well in the rest of the series.
The rivalry between the two players began while Bertuzzi was a member of the Detroit Red Wings, but took a pause when the Bruins acquired the 29-year-old Ontario native ahead of the trade deadline last season. It was quickly reinstated when Bertuzzi signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with Toronto.
Bertuzzi has taken a penalty in each of the first two games but each time he was in the box, the Leafs were able to hold the Bruins off the scoreboard.
“It’s playoff hockey. Everyone ramps up their game,” Bertuzzi said. “The first game, probably a lot of emotions for both sides … that was to be expected.”
Boston and Toronto have met 16 times in the postseason with each team winning eight series. However, the Bruins have won the last six series dating back to 1969.
The Bruins dominated Game 1, defeating the Leafs 5-1 on Saturday, and will look to bounce back on Wednesday night when they head north of the border to take on the Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Puck drop from Toronto is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch all the action, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
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