Brad Marchand may be doubtful for the G4; the hit has angered the Bruins.

Brad Marchand may be doubtful for the G4; the hit has angered the Bruins.

After a collision with Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett in Game 3, which the Boston Bruins claimed may have crossed the line, Brad Marchand is out with an upper-body injury.
It’s unclear whether the Bruins captain will play in Sunday’s Game 4. He wasn’t part of the team’s Saturday practice. Marchand has 10 points in 10 games (3 goals, 7 assists) to lead the Bruins in scoring throughout the playoffs.

The Panthers won 6-2 on Friday night in Boston, taking a 2-1 lead in the series.
A slow-motion replay, according to some on social media, seems to show Bennett using his right glove to make contact with Marchand’s head as the Boston winger went for a check. A former NHL goalie who now works for NESN covering the Bruins, Andrew Raycroft, described it as “a sucker punch, not a reverse hit.”
The NHL department of player safety will not punish Bennett for the action, according to a source who spoke to ESPN. On-ice officials did not issue a penalty for the incident.
Coach Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins said, “After seeing [the footage], there’s a history there with Bennett, even if he wasn’t there for the event. He’s a hard-working, skilled player, but the evidence of what happened is obvious. Some may argue that it wasn’t deliberate. We see things in a certain way.”
Montgomery said that Bennett’s track record isn’t just about Marchand, but more about dealing that type of blow to prior hits.
For instance, during the Panthers’ series against the Toronto Maple Leafs the previous season, Bennett knocked forward Matthew Knies to the ice after Bennett’s right glove made contact with Knies’ face. Knies suffered a concussion during the play, and there were rumours that Bennett had hit the Toronto rookie with a deceptive blow.
Paul Maurice, the coach of Florida, said that he didn’t think Bennett had punched Marchand.
He said on Saturday, “No, and I don’t think most of you would’ve either.” “It was just an accident. In an ideal world, every team would have a healthy roster. No one enjoys seeing him suffer harm.”
For the first time since Game 2 of the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bennett was back in the starting lineup for Florida. He participated for 12:43 and helped the Panthers take a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal from Vladimir Tarasenko.
“He strikes hard. He’s a fairly tough man and rather hefty. Carter Verhaeghe, a winger with the Panthers, remarked, “He knows how to time it.” “Timeing hits like that and attracting people like that takes a lot of talent. Few players in the league possess both his skill set and ability to accomplish it like him.”
Before leaving the game, Marchand played eight shifts in the first period and seven in the second. He accumulated 10:51 of ice time overall. He made one effort at a shot but failed to record a shot on goal.
“It is never good to see someone fall and be unable to get back up, particularly if that person is your greatest player and leader. However, it’s a chance for players to step up, and we can do that,” Boston centre Charlie Coyle said, pointing out that the Maple Leafs overcame the Bruins in the first round after the injury to star Auston Matthews.
“I think you’ll see guys take on more responsibility and rise to that occasion,” Coyle said. “We want to be able to play for the players who aren’t in the starting lineup. We play for each other, and on Sunday we will play for each other.”

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