Bruins Coach Seems Convinced That Panthers Sam Bennett Got Away With A Cheap Shot On Brad Marchand

The Florida Panthers find themselves with a 2-1 series lead against the Boston Bruins heading into Game 4, and while you'd think the Bruins would like to forget Game 3 — the second straight game in which they gave up 6 goals — you can be sure it will be fresh in their minds because of what happened to captain Brad Marchand.

Florida's Sam Bennett was back in the lineup for the first time since early in the first round, and it didn't take long for him to make his presence known for better or worse.

Bennett appeared (at least at first glance) to lay a reverse hit on Marchand which sent the Bruins captain into the boards. 

That play eventually forced Marchand out of the game and Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed that he's day-to-day ahead of Game 4. There was no penalty either.

However, Montgomery also addressed the hit itself, and he believes that Bennett got away with a cheap shot on his captain.

"Having seen it, there’s a history there with Bennett. There’s clearly evidence of what went on," he said.

What's interesting is that this play looks very different depending on what angle you're viewing it from.

From the broadcast angle, it looked like a reverse hit or even incidental contact, however, other angles appear to show Bennett's right arm moving toward Marchand's face.

I don't know what to believe, but Montgomery is right that there's some history with Bennett and he is one of the Panthers — and there are more than a few of them — who play a tough, physical game that sometimes toes the line of decency, and occasionally oversteps it.

Whatever we or Jim Montgomery may think, the NHL didn't deem the play worthy of supplemental discipline. That means we should expect to see Bennett in the lineup on Sunday, and I think things will get very interesting very fast.