The Boston Bruins will not have captain Brad Marchand for Game 4 Sunday against the Florida Panthers because of an upper-body injury he suffered following a hit from Sam Bennett.
The incident occurred in the first period of Game 3 Friday when Bennett passed the puck before getting the best of Marchand as the two players collided.
The Bruins forward went to the bench in pain but was able to make it to the end of the second period. He didn’t come out for the third, which the team said was due to an upper-body injury.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said that his team’s lack of response had more to do with how the game was going.
“I feel that that’s my fault that we didn’t retaliate to some degree, but you’re trying to get back in a game,” Montgomery told reporters. “So there are reasons why we didn’t, but again, I think there’s something that I personally take responsibility for.”
Bennett has received two suspensions in his career, one in the 2021 playoffs for a hit on Blake Coleman and another for a hit to the head of Cedric Paquette in the 2021-22 regular season.
Last post-season, he was fined for cross-checking Michael Bunting in the Panthers’ second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bruins players know they will need a collective effort to push forward without Marchand but aren’t going to let the Panthers’ top players feel comfortable.
“I think we have to really go after their top guys. To let them know it’s not okay to go after our captain,” said forward Pavel Zacha. “That’s not okay with us. We’re ready to be physical again today and be a little bit harder on them.”
Reporters asked Panthers head coach Paul Maurice if Bennett threw a punch at Marchand on the play.
“No. It was just a collision,” he said. “In a perfect world, every team has everybody healthy. Nobody likes to see him get hurt.”
The Bruins will try to avoid falling behind 3-1 in the series after Friday’s Game 3 loss put the Panthers ahead in the series.
You can watch Game 4 on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+ with coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT.