TORONTO (AP) — Brad Marchand broke a tie midway through the third period and the Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Wednesday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.

After Todd Bertuzzi tied it for Toronto with 8:35 left, Marchard put the Bruins back in front 28 second later. He took a pass from Danton Heinen and ripped a shot past goalie Ilya Samsonov’s ear. Marchand capped the scoring with an empty-netter and also had an assist.

“We stuck with it all game,” Marchand said. “We elevated to another level.”

The Maple Leafs were livid at Marchand’s agitating antics.

“The gamesmanship and everything, it’s world class,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said about Marchand. “He’s been in the league long enough … he gets calls. It’s unbelievable, actually, how it goes. We’ve got to play through that.”

Marchand got tangled up with Bertuzzi in the second period with Toronto up 1-0. A frothing Scotiabank Arena crowd clamoring for a penalty, the referees took no issues before Trent Frederic scored the tying goal seconds later.