Not the best news in regarding to one of the top playoff performers.
When speaking to the media on Saturday, Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said that captain Brad Marchand is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
The veteran forward was hit by Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett in the first of Game 3 of their second-round series on Friday night. Marchand went down and fell awkwardly into the sideboards between the benches. He was in visible discomfort on the bench and played sparingly through the remainder of the first and second periods. However, Marchand did not return for the third period.
Coaches on both sides have given their thoughts on the play.
Montgomery admitted there are past tensions between Bennett and the Bruins.
“There’s a history there with Bennett,” Montgomery said. “There’s clearly evidence of what went on. People can say it wasn’t intentional. We have our view of it.”
There has been speculation about whether or not Bennett threw a punch at Marchand while delivering the reverse hit. Panthers coach Paul Maurice doesn’t believe so.
“It was just a collision,” Maurice said. “In a perfect world, every team has everybody healthy. Nobody likes to see him get hurt.”
Marchand played 10:51 in two periods, registering five hits but no shots on goal. Florida won the game, 6-2, taking a 2-1 lead in the Atlantic Division Final.
Marchand has been a big-time player in the playoffs for the Bruins over the years. The 35-year-old has three goals and 10 points in Boston’s 10 playoff games. He scored eight points in the team’s opening-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, doing so in the first four games against the Leafs. Marchand registered two goals and an assist in the Bruins’ 4-2 win in Game 3 last month.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia native scored 29 goals and 67 points in 82 games during the regular season, the ninth straight season Marchand has hit the 60-point mark. It was also the first time since the 2013-14 season that he played the entire regular season. Marchand had been banged up in stretches over the last two campaigns.
In 1,029 games, Marchand has scored 401 goals and 929 points, including scoring 56 goals and 138 points in 156 career playoff appearances.
Game 4 between the Bruins and Panthers is set for Sunday evening in Boston.
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