Leafs' Carlo: 'It's going to be crazy' facing Marchand

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had their fair share of tussles with agitator Brad Marchand, but nobody on the team's current roster knows him better than defenseman Brandon Carlo.

Marchand and Carlo were teammates for nine years with the Boston Bruins. Both were traded away to Atlantic Division foes at the deadline: Carlo to the Maple Leafs, and Marchand to the Florida Panthers. The two will square off against each other for the first time Wednesday when Toronto hosts Florida.

"It's going to be crazy facing him," Carlo said, according to NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "I watched his first game there and saw his immediate impact. I know he'll be high energy and won't treat me any different than any other opponent, even though he's one of my best friends.

"I'm going to grin at him the first time we're out there for a faceoff. After that, it's on. It's time to compete and battle. That's something we did almost every day in practice, so it shouldn't be too much different."

Marchand was injured at the time of his trade to Florida, but he returned to make his Panthers debut Friday against Utah. He's now suited up in two games, collecting an assist while playing on a line with fellow pest Sam Bennett.

Carlo has been a strong fit in Toronto. The 6-foot-5, right-shooting defender has proven to be the ideal complement to Morgan Rielly. The pair owns a 61.3% share of the expected goals at five-on-five in 12 games together, according to Evolving-Hockey.

With Toronto's top shutdown duo of Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev likely tasked with facing Aleksander Barkov's line, Carlo could see a heavy dose of Marchand. Carlo understands that discipline will be key.

"You just have to play smart," Carlo said. "I kind of learned that in the playoffs, especially with these guys. With (Matthew) Tkachuk as well. They're looking for you to retaliate. You've just got to stand your ground and not punch back, do the stuff that will get you a penalty.

"I almost feel like that's a way of frustrating them more because they want to try and antagonize you and do something dumb."

The Marchand-Carlo matchup could be pivotal in a high-stakes game. The Maple Leafs enter Tuesday's slate three points up the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand.