Bruins

With Brad Marchand injured, Bruins pledge physical response vs. Panthers in Game 4

“I think it pisses off everyone. I think this whole team ticks everyone off, to be honest."

Brad Marchand will not play in Game 4 due to an upper-body injury. Matthew J. Lee / The Boston Globe

May 12, 2024

The Bruins will be without their captain for Game 4 against the Florida Panthers.

Brad Marchand will not play on Sunday night at TD Garden after exiting Game 3 on Friday night with an upper-body injury. The 36-year-old winger was shaken up following a first-period collision with Sam Bennett, who appeared to punch Marchand before delivering his reverse hit.

“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 penalties were assessed on the play, nor did Bennett receive any supplemental discipline from the league following Marchand’s injury.

Marchand, who struggled to get back on his skates after his collision with Bennett, only played 10:51 of ice time on Friday and did not return in the third period of Boston’s Game 3 loss.

Montgomery, who acknowledged on Saturday that there was “clearly evidence” that Bennett sucker-punched Marchand as he closed in for a hit, added after Sunday’s optional skate that the Bruins should have done more in Game 3 to respond to Marchand’s injury.

“I feel that that’s my fault that we didn’t retaliate to some degree, but you’re trying to get back in the game,” Montgomery said. “It’s 1-0 up until they get the four-minute power play and then we start the third and we score right away, and we got juices going. There’s reason why we didn’t but I think that’s something that I personally take responsibility for that.”

Trent Frederic acknowledged that he did not see the replay of Bennett’s hit on Marchand until after Game 3 wrapped. But both he and Pavel Zacha stressed that the Bruins are gearing up for a physical retort on Sunday night at TD Garden.

“We have to really go after their top guys and let them know that’s not OK,” Zacha said. “To go after our captain, that’s not OK with us. We’re ready to be physical again today and be a little bit harder on them.”

Be it finishing hard checks or dropping the gloves, the Bruins will look to counter a physical Panthers team that boasts plenty of snarl across its depth chart.

But Frederic also acknowledged that the Bruins can’t approach Game 4 as just an all-out slugfest — especially if it leads to several power-play opportunities for Florida.

Avenging Marchand following Bennett’s hit might be an area of emphasis, but the way to do so for Boston involves leaving the Garden ice on Sunday night with a win and a series deadlocked at 2-2.

“There can be a time in the game where that can happen. That’s something that we might address but 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,” Frederic said, adding: “I think it pisses off everyone.

“I think this whole team ticks everyone off, to be honest. There’s some individuals that maybe make guys more frustrated and more mad. But you can’t use it as frustration, you still have to go out and do the job. We’re still down 2-1 and try to make it 2-2 tonight.