Leafs’ Sheldon Keefe fires accusations at Brad Marchand’s antics — ‘It’s an art’

Bertuzzi and Marchand got tangled up in the second period, with the Leafs at the time leading 1-0. Most of the 19,423 in attendance were screaming for a penalty, but instead, Trent Frederic scored the tying goal seconds later on a shot that Ilya Samsonov will certainly want back.

The Bruins would take the lead on a Jake DeBrusk powerplay tally — his third of the series — early in the third period before Bertuzzi tied things up midway through the frame. But the tie lasted just 28 seconds after Marchand went from bothering the Leafs on the ice to sinking them on the scoresheet.

Brad Marchand downs Maple Leafs in Game 3

Marchand was a thorn in the side of the Leafs all night long, and he also sunk them on the scoresheet on Wednesday. The veteran broke the 2-2 tie with under 10 minutes left in the third period before sending his second of the night into an empty net with under 30 seconds left in regulation to seal Game 3.

It was a tough loss for Toronto, who stole home-ice advantage back in Game 2 but were unable to build on the momentum of the big victory at TD Garden. Instead, the Leafs will be fighting for their lives on Saturday in a Game 4 that will feel like a must-win.

Going back to Boston down 3-1 is really not an option — not if the Leafs hope to beat the Bruins in a playoff series for the first time since 1959.

“Little mistakes at very important times that end up in our net, but in general I just didn’t think we got to our game nearly as much tonight as we did in the others,” Keefe said about his team’s game, per NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy. “Credit to Boston, they played hard, made it hard to get through the neutral zone, and I didn’t think we did enough to manage through that.”

The Leafs will have to do a better job at containing Marchand if they hope to even the series. They probably also need to score on the powerplay, which is loaded with talent but went 0-for-5 in Wednesday’s loss.

“We’re getting our looks,” Mitch Marner said of the futile man advantage. “I think we really are. I think we’ve done a good job of entering [the zone]. It’s just staying confident in it knowing we have the people in here to make it successful.”

The PP needs to get successful — and fast — if the Leafs hope to avoid an elimination Game 5 at TD Garden next week.