BOSTON — Bruins captain Brad Marchand missed a 3-2 loss in Game 4 of their series against the Florida Panthers on Sunday night, and his teammates are looking for revenge.
“I think it pissed everyone off. I think the whole team pissed everyone off, to be honest,” Bruins center Trent Frederic said before the game.
Marchand left Game 3 after two periods with an upper body injury. Coach Jim Montgomery said he was working on a daily basis and would not reveal whether the Bruins star suffered a concussion. Marchand is the Bruins’ leading scorer in the playoffs with 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in 10 games.
His injury may have been the result of a controversial play involving Panthers center Sam Bennett, who was making his first appearance since Game 2 of the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning. As Marchand went to punch Bennett near the benches, Bennett appeared to throw a gloved punch with his right hand as they made contact.
Bennett was not penalized on the play and did not receive any additional discipline from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
Bruins center Pavel Zacha expects a response to Marchand’s injury in Game 4.
“I think we really need to go after their best players. Let them know it’s not right. Going after our captain is not right for us. We’re ready to be again physical today and to be a little harder on them,” Zacha said.
Montgomery emphasized that he was not calling Bennett’s play “dirty,” but that it was “stepping out of bounds.” He noted that Bennett had a history of these types of plays. In 2023 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bennett was accused of throwing a gloved punch at rookie Matthew Knies before knocking him to the ice. Knies left the show with a concussion.
“I think he was someone who played on the edge and you knew what he was doing. I don’t know if you saw the photo from behind, but he was clearly loaded,” the coach said.
“I think we really need to go after their best players. Let them know it’s not right. Going after our captain is not right for us. We’re ready to be again physical today and to be a little harder on them.
Bruins center Pavel Zacha
Montgomery took responsibility for the Bruins failing to respond to their captain’s injury in Game 3. He said the situation of the game – Boston trailing entering the third period but still in the game – played a role in that, but he regretted that there was no retaliation. repel.
“I think it’s my fault that we didn’t fight back to some extent, but you try to get back into a game. So there are reasons why we didn’t, but still one times, I think there’s something that I take personal responsibility for,” he said.
Frédéric said he and his teammates didn’t know the extent of Bennett’s play until after the game.
“I think the guys have now seen a replay. It’s slowed down and you kind of see what he did at that point. I don’t know if we knew how bad it was and I guess that now we know,” he said.
As for retaliation, Frédéric said it’s a “fine line” considering the Bruins are down in the series and officials on the ice are already on alert during what has been a physical series.
“I’m sure all these referees are aware of what happened in the last three games and what happened in the last game,” he said. “In a perfect world, where we can just do something and it’s an eye for an eye. Sometimes that’s not exactly how it works and you just have to find your place.”
Frédéric said it would be difficult to replace what Marchand brings to the team.
“He brings more than what you see on the ice. So we’re going to have a lot of guys who are going to step up and talk more. On the ice, his actual game is going to be hard to catch,” he said.
