The Boston Bruins-Toronto Maple Leafs rivalry rarely disappoints, and when the two teams played each other on Tuesday, it didn’t take long for things to get heated.
The Bruins entered Tuesday’s matchup with back-to-back shutouts, and they also held Toronto scoreless in the first period.
When two rivals play, it’s easy for things to get out of hand, and they certainly did with just over three minutes left in the opening frame on Tuesday.
Brad Marchand jumped Chris Tanev
Everything started when Chris Tanev delivered a hit to Bruins superstar David Pastrnak, sending him crashing awkwardly into the boards near the Leafs’ net. Brad Marchand, captain of the Bruins, immediately took exception to Tanev’s hit.
After delivering an airborne headlock, Marchand wrestled Tanev down to the ice, with everyone around them quickly joining the chaos. Tanev got two minutes for boarding Pastrnak, and both Marchand and Tanev received two minutes each for roughing.
David Pastrnak criticized by fans
Fans absolutely loved it when things heated up between these long-time rivals, but at the same time, almost everyone said the exact same thing about the incident: that David Pastrnak was to blame for the hit he received from Tanev, which led to Marchand jumping at him.
“Players should never be rewarded by drawing a penalty when they do a stupid turn at the last second,” one user said.
“I feel like Pasta turned knowing it would draw a penalty. And how does Tanev get a roughing?” another said.
“Pasta turned into the hit,” a third added.
“Don’t see how Tanev could have done much when Pastrnak turns at the last second,” a fourth said.
READ MORE: The real reason behind David Pastrnak getting benched revealed
