"Just saying hi": Marchand laughs off Leafs coach Keefe yelling at him
No matter what year is on the calendar, Brad Marchand seems to remain a perennial thorn in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ side.
During last night’s 3-2 shootout loss for the Leafs, the notorious Marchand once again became the story for the Boston Bruins.
Though he didn’t score ā finishing the night with one assist on Charlie Coyle’s marker ā Marchand drew some ire for his involvement in a play that injured Toronto defenceman Timothy Liljegren in the first period of the game, with the two battling for a puck in the corner of the Leafs’ defensive end.
Timothy Liljegren has been helped down the tunnel and has left the game after this play against Boston. pic.twitter.com/KOJ6YZ3XMq
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 3, 2023
Marchand’s stick went between Liljegren’s legs and looked to trip him up before he crashed into the boards, but the play went unpenalized.
Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe was seen yelling at Marchand over the incident, but the Bruins star wasn’t willing to share the words the two exchanged.
“Oh, he was just saying ‘hi,'” Marchand said while laughing. “That stays on the ice.”
Brad Marchand when asked why Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was barking at him from the bench during the game: āOh, he was just saying āhiā pic.twitter.com/y9yJ7DVtmJ
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) November 3, 2023
Keefe didn’t seem to share the humour that Marchand showed after the game.
“I got nothing. They didnāt see the stick go between his legs for the can opener to make him go feet-first into the boards in the most dangerous area of the ice. He didnāt see it,” Keefe said of the non-call on the play by the referees.
Keefe added that Liljegren is likely out for a while with a lower-body injury.
“It looks like heāll miss significant time. We are not going to know for sure until we get him home and get a picture, but it is not short-term at this point with the way it looks,” he added.
Likely without Liljegren in their lineup, Toronto returns to action tomorrow night when they host the Buffalo Sabres at 7 pm ET.