Ex-Bruins Captain Brad Marchand Says Harsh Words From Leafs' Brandon Carlo Cut Him Deep

In the lead-up to last week's matchup between the Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers, and lot was made of the first meeting between former teammates as Panthers winger Brad Marchand and Leafs defenseman Brandon Carlo have never been on opposing sides of the ice before.

Carlo was anticipating the worst from the always vocal Marchand in the contest, wondering what kind of dirt the ex-Bruins captain had on him that might come out in the form of a hockey chirp or two while the pair were on the ice at the same time.

As it turns out, however, it wasn't Marchand who was dishing out the chirps. He was, in fact, the chirpee, according to Marchand himself on Tuesday.

During a media session following Tuesday's game day skate, Marchand revealed to reporters that Carlo was the one throwing some jabs out there, with Marchand admitting to the media that "it cut deep".

Obviously, the always light-hearted Marchand was joking. He and Carlo had become good friends following a long tenure together in Boston.

It will be interesting, however, to see if the shoe ends up on the other foot tonight with Marchand dishing it right back to Carlo in the rematch.

The Panthers and Leafs could be on a crash course for another post-season meeting if the Panthers continue to slide down the standings and into a Wild Card spot.

NHL on TNT panelist Paul Bissonnette believes that the Panthers may be tanking on purpose to set up a meeting with the Leafs in Round 1.

The Panthers are set to welcome back 3 very important pieces tonight, so I suppose we'll see what sort of effort the Cats put forth tonight and whether it feeds into the suspicion or squashes it flat with another tight-checking, close game between the two Atlantic Division rivals.