Getty Bruins captain Brad Marchand has been ruled out for Game 4 against the Panthers
On the morning of Sunday, May 12, ahead of Game 4 against the Florida Panthers, the Boston Bruins have ruled out captain Brad Marchand with an “upper-body” injury.
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.
Jim Montgomery provides a lineup update for tonight’s game: “Marchand is out tonight…he’s doing well it’s day to day…Heinen is a option for tonight.”
“He’s out tonight,” Montgomery told reporters after the Bruins optional practice on May 12, classifying his availability as “day-to-day.”
Asked about why there was no retaliation from nobody on the Bruins side of Game 3, Montgomery said “It’s my fault we didn’t retaliate,” clarifying the situation of the game at the point of the injury (Florida was leading only 1-0) didn’t call for it.
“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?
The Bruins, as Montgomery told reporters in his pregame press conference on Sunday, didn’t chase nor ask Bennett to answer for his hit on Marchand. They let things go through Game 3 on their way to a loss.
That, however, came with the caveat that back then nobody was aware of Bennett’s sucker-punching Marchand instead of just colliding with him. Things have changed now and the main narrative involving Game 4 is focused on the Bruins vs. Bennett saga.
Montgomery didn’t issue any warning of what might or might not happen in Game 4 in terms of applying any retaliation.
Bruins’ Trent Frederic, however, spoke about the Bennett punch and the potential consequences after Sunday’s practice.
Trent Frederic on stepping up with Brad Marchand out of the lineup: “It’s not going to be one guy it’s going to be all of us as a group…he brings much more than what you see on the ice so we’re going to have to do that as well and have a lot of guys step up and talk.”
“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 teased some action could be coming 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.
“I’m sure all these refs are aware of what happened in the last three games and what happened last game. In a perfect world, where we can just go do something about it and it’s an eyeball for an eyeball. Sometimes it’s not exactly how it works and you just got to find your spot.”
Brad Marchand Out With “Upper-Body” Injury Suffered in Game 3
Marchand suffered his injury in a collision with Panthers’ Sam Bennett in the first period of Game 3.
The Bruins captain was apparently hit by the shoulder/back of Bennett. Further analysis of the play revealed a sucker punch being delivered by the Panthers player to the head of Marchand.
Marchand fell to the ice, went to the bench, and returned to skate in the first and second periods. The Bruins, however, ruled him out for the final period of Game 3, one Boston lost 6-2 to Florida.
“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.
“In real-time, I gotta be honest, my eyes weren’t on there as the puck had left that area,” Montgomery told reporters on May 11. “But having seen it, there’s a history there with Bennett. Hard player, but there’s clearly evidence of what went on. People can say it wasn’t intentional, but we have our view of it.”
After the Panthers held their own practice later on May 11, head coach Paul Maurice shared his view of the Bennett hit on Marchand.
Maurice on if he sees a punch from Bennett at Marchand: “No, 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.” #flapanthers #bruins
“No,” Maurice told reporters on May 11, via The Athletic’s Michael Russo, when asked about whether or not he sees a punch delivered on Marchand by Bennett. “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.”