Brad Marchand Taken Out by Sam Bennett, Bruins Have Bigger Problems

On Friday night in Boston, Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett took out Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand with a questionable play. It was very subtle, but you can see the intent. Some will say that since it's Marchand, we will excuse the questionable play. He had it coming anyway, right? Bennett is known to be a dirty player who takes liberties against the opposition on the ice. This is a known fact.

okay I know my opinion but I'm curious, did Bennett sucker (rabbit) punch Marchand here or not? probably doesn't matter, but I'm curious what the masses think.#NHLBruins | @OnlyBruinsPod pic.twitter.com/FsECQMF8CS

— PrimeTime Brett (@bretthoward_) May 11, 2024

Here's a different angle of the hit in question.

Here’s another angle of the Bennett sucker punch#NHLBruins | @BruinSomethin pic.twitter.com/5vJGmXlpSh

— Michael Sullivan (@_MikeSullivan) May 11, 2024

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery didn't pull any punches, "there's clear evidence of what went on." According to Montgomery, Marchand is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

“People can say it wasn’t intentional, but we have our view of it.”

Jim Montgomery‘s full comments on the Sam Bennett-Brad Marchand collision that injured the Bruins captain. pic.twitter.com/1sgAehh4QH

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 11, 2024

No matter how you feel about the hit, the Bruins have bigger problems. Once again, the Panthers are living rent-free in the Bruins' heads. If the Bruins don't start playing and stop worrying about what the Panthers are doing, this series is going to be over in five games. Someone needs to step up and start making plays. 

What's even more concerning is that none of the Bruins responded to the hit on their captain. If the players actually played by the hockey code, one of the leaders on the Bruins would have a chat with Matthew Tkachuk; he would tell him that if you take any more liberties with our players, we're going to start with the star players and go from there. 

UPDATE: Here's a better look at Sam Bennett's fist to Marchand's face. You can see it's a dirty hit that should've resulted in a look from the NHL's Department of Players Safety. 

Army, Ace and Biz went back to the tape on the shot Sam Bennett gave to Brad Marchand in Game 3 and they got some thoughts 👀 @armdog @ansoncarterla @biznasty2point0 pic.twitter.com/kqJRr2px5V

— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) May 12, 2024