Marchand of Panthers to renew rivalry with Maple Leafs

TORONTO -- Different jersey. Same villain.

Sure, Brad Marchand exchanged his Boston Bruins black-and-gold for Florida red-white-and-blue when he was acquired by the defending Stanley Cup champions in a trade on March 7.

At the same time, the veteran wing has always been a thorn in the side of the Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans, especially having been part of four consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff series victories over them with the Bruins (2013, 2018, 2019, 2024).

Now Marchand comes to Toronto attempting to rile up the locals again, this time for a pivotal game between the Maple Leafs and Panthers at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS2, SCRIPPS) with monumental implications on the Atlantic Division title race.

"It's going to be huge," Maple Leafs defenseman Brandon Carlo said after practice on Tuesday. "We look at it as a challenge against a team we could very well be seeing in the near future.

"And [Marchand] will be ready. I've had a first-hand view of how he rises to the occasion in big games."

Carlo would know, having spent most of his career as a teammate with Marchand in Boston. Each was traded by the Bruins on the same day, Carlo to the Maple Leafs, Marchand to the Panthers.

And this certainly fits the criteria of one of those big games Carlo is referring to, one fellow defensemen Morgan Rielly referred to as "a playoff" meeting. The Maple Leafs lead the Atlantic Division with 94 points, one ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning and two ahead of the Panthers.

Wednesday kicks off an eight-day span for the Maple Leafs in which they'll play the Panthers twice (also April 8) and Lightning once (April 9). Florida has won each game against Toronto this season, and the Maple Leafs will have to find a way to finally overcome them.

Easier said than done, especially with Marchand now on the scene. The 36-year-old, who'd been dealing with an upper-body injury at the time of the trade, made his Panthers debut on a line with fellow irritator Sam Bennett on Friday, setting up Bennett for an overtime goal in a 2-1 victory against the Utah Hockey Club.

"It's going to be crazy facing him," Carlo said, wearing a mischievous smile. "I watched his first game there and saw his immediate impact. I know he'll be high energy and won't treat me any different than any other opponent, even though he's one of my best friends.

"I'm going to grin at him the first time we're out there for a face-off. After that, it's on. It's time to compete and battle. That's something we did almost every day in practice so it shouldn't be too much different."

Carlo recounted how Marchand was one of the first teammates to welcome him during his rookie season with the Bruins in 2016-17.

"He's honestly one of the best guys I've known over the years," Carlo said. "That first year, he was so accommodating, inviting me to his place for dinner, things like that. Your first time in the NHL, you don't know what these guys are going to be like, but that was part of the culture he brought. He's always himself, and that allowed everyone else to be themselves.

"It's going to be weird to play against him now. I feel our relationship grew the past couple of years. He's one of the guys I would lean on."

Having said that, Carlo and his Maple Leafs teammates understand that Marchand and Bennett, among others, will attempt to get under the collective skins of Toronto players, before and after the whistles. Discipline, he said, is going to be the key.

"You just have to play smart," he said. "I kind of learned that in the playoffs, especially with these guys. With (Matthew) Tkachuk as well. They're looking for you to retaliate. You've just got to stand your ground and not punch back, do the stuff that will get you a penalty.

"I almost feel like that's a way of frustrating them more, because they want to try and antagonize you and do something dumb."

Which are things Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said his players can't allow themselves to be goaded into.

"[The Panthers are] going to do the things they do, try to disrupt you, try to draw you into a penalty," Berube said. "You can't react to it. You've got to initiate and stand your ground. But you have to be careful that you don't take that extra shot or swing.

"It's hard. But that's what they want."

What the Maple Leafs want is to find a way to widen their lead in the division with eight games left. Taking care of business in their remaining games against Florida and Tampa Bay will do just that and go a long way toward finishing first in the Atlantic, likely avoiding a first-round playoff matchup with either.

"We can control (our fate) to a certain extent," Berube said. "They're all big games but these are big games within our division. We're fighting for the same spot as them.

"These games are going to be a challenge going down the stretch here and we have to be ready for them."