On the morning of Sunday, May 12, before Game 4 against the Florida Panthers, the Boston Bruins have ruled out captain Brad Marchand with an injury to the upper body.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery announced the decision after the team’s practice on the morning of gameday, one Boston enters trailing Florida 2-1 in their second-round series.
“He’s out tonight,” Montgomery told reporters after the Bruins optional practice on May 12, classifying his availability as “day-to-day.”
When asked why the Bruins did not retaliate in Game 3, Montgomery took the blame and explained that the circumstances at the time of the injury did not warrant it, as the score was 1-0 in favor of Florida.
“I feel it’s my fault that we didn’t retaliate to some degree,” Montgomery said. “But you’re trying to get back in the game. It’s 1-0 up until they get the four-minute power play. Then we start the third and we score right away. Now we’ve got juices going. There’s reasons why we didn’t. That’s something I personally take responsibility for.”
Montgomery also said, “I don’t think I classified it as dirty, I just thought it was outside the lines.” He added Bennett “knew what he was doing,” finishing by saying, “I don’t know if you’ve seen the picture from behind, but there’s clearly… he loaded up.”
Will the Bruins Retaliate During Game 4?
As Montgomery mentioned in his pregame press conference on Sunday, the Bruins did not seek retribution against Bennett for his hit on Marchand in Game 3. They let things go and ended up losing.
However, it was not known at the time that Bennett had intentionally hit Marchand, and now the focus of Game 4 is on the Bruins' situation with Bennett.
Montgomery did not give any indication of possible retaliation in Game 4.
Bruins’ Trent Frederic, however, talked about the Bennett hit and its potential consequences after Sunday’s practice.“During the game, it was kinda hard to know it was a dirty hit,”
Frederic told reporters during his media availability on May 12 . “Nobody really knew how bad it was.“I think guys now have seen the replays slowed down and kinda see what [Bennett] did. At the time, I don’t know if we knew how bad it was. I guess now we do.”
A reporter followed up by asking Frederic how much the action pissed off everyone on the Bruins once they could properly analyze it and see what happened.
“I think it pisses off everyone,” Frederic said. “I think this whole thing kind of ticks everyone off, to be honest. There’s some individuals, obviously, that make guys more frustrated, more mad.
“Maybe it’s frustration. You’ve still got to go out and do the job. We’re still down 2-1, trying to make it 2-2.”
Finally, asked if there is going to be an answer or retaliation on Game 4, Frederic hinted that some action could happen later on Sunday.
“There can be a time in the game where that could happen,” Frederic said. “That’s something we might address. It’s a 2-1 series. We’ve got to be smart too. We’ve given them a lot of power plays already. Try to limit it and do it in a smart way.
Brad Marchand cannot play because of an injury to his upper body that happened in Game 3
Marchand got hurt when he crashed into a Panthers' player
This happened in the first period of Game 3. Sam Bennett The Bruins captain got hit in the shoulder/back by Bennett. Upon review, it was revealed that the Panthers player intentionally punched Marchand in the head.
Marchand fell, went to the bench, and skated in the first and second periods. However, the Bruins decided not to let him play in the final period of Game 3,
which Boston lost 6-2 to Florida “At the time, I have to admit, I wasn't looking because the puck had moved away from there,”.
Montgomery told reporters on May 11 . “But after seeing it, there's a history with Bennett. He's a tough player, but it's clear what happened. People might say it wasn't on purpose, but we see it differently.”After the Panthers had their practice later on May 11, head coach Paul Maurice shared his opinion on the Bennett hit on Marchand.
“No,” Maurice told reporters on May 11,
via The Athletic’s Michael Russo , when asked about whether he saw Bennett punch Marchand. “And I don’t think most of you would either. It was just a collision. In a perfect world, every team has everybody healthy. Nobody likes to see anybody hurt.”The Bruins have said that Brad Marchand cannot play in Game 4 against the Panthers and hinted at getting back at Sam Bennett.
