Keefe, Montgomery trade passive barbs ahead of Game 4

As the game heat up on the ice between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, so are things off the ice.

And on Thursday’s day-off between games, head coaches and players from both clubs have taken a few jabs at each other.

It started with Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery, who commented about Max Domi’s bump on Jeremy Swayman during a TV timeout in Game 2. As Swayman skated towards the Bruins bench, both players’ shoulders collided, sending Swayman to the ice, sometime Domi brushed off say both players were “just skating.”

Montgomery, meanwhile, felt there was more to it.

“When Domi goes off the bench and bumps him on purpose, makes me think that maybe he’s in their head a little bit,” he said.

Bruins winger Trent Frederic, who scored late in the second period of Game 2, echoed that sentiment, calling it “kind of wild.”

“Maybe Sway’s getting in their head, making a lot of saves, but we also have Linus too,” he said. “So, bump our goalies, I don’t know, didn’t work last night.”

But Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe wasn’t thinking too much into it.

“With that logic you would say every time they bump into one of our guys maybe we’re in their heads,” he said, when posed with Montgomery’s response. “I don’t think that has anything to do with anything.”

Another Bruins winger, Pat Maroon, was none too pleased with the bump, either. So much so that during the TV timeout when it happened, Maroon had to be held back by linesman Ryan Daisy and once directed back to the Bruins’ bench, continued yelling at the Maple Leafs side.

The physicality of the game ramped up from there, and by the end of the game a total of 137 hits were laid — 74 for Toronto, and 63 for Boston. It was a noticable increase from the 103 total in Game 1, and 97 in Game 2.

After single days off between Games 1, 2 and 3, both teams have off days today and Friday, with Game 4 set for a late start at 8 p.m. EST.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.