Sam Bennett’s explanation for Brad Marchand hit will raise fans’ eyebrows

Sam Bennett continued to address the hit on Brad Marchand on Sunday night. He stressed that he did not intentionally punch the Bruins star in the head. As for the backlash, the Panthers forward is fine with whatever fans have to say about the hit from Game 3.

“People can see it however they want. It’s playoff hockey, there’s going to be hard plays. Obviously, it’s unfortunate he got hit, but that’s just a hockey play in my mind,” Bennett said, via B/R Open Ice, on Sunday night.

Former NHL forward Paul Bissonnette asked the Panthers forward to expand on his comments later in the interview. He questioned whether Bennett was attempting a reverse hit when his hand came up. Bennett agreed with Bissonnette’s view, and mentioned wanting to protect himself after a recent injury.

“He’s coming at me. Normally, I’m going to go with two hands to protect myself. Coming back from an injury, I’m going to protect myself however I can. That’s really all there is to it, and like I said, it’s unfortunate he got injured on it,” the Panthers forward said, via B/R Open Ice.

Panthers’ Paul Maurice addresses Sam Bennett

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has certainly heard the noise surrounding Sam Bennett. The media definitely wanted to hear his thoughts on the situation. But the veteran bench boss feels as if things have been blown out of proportion. And he believes his team is content with everything going on.

“There’s been lots of energy with this, lots of coverage. I think you’ve lost your minds on it, which is fine. You have that right. We’ve been a very disciplined, very composed team. In a good way, it’s gone unnoticed. We’re all right with that,” the Panthers head coach said, via senior digital content manager Jameson Olive.

Claiming the Panthers are composed is a bit of a bold claim. They aren’t far removed from a chaotic third period in Game 2 that saw them combine for 17 penalties with the Bruins. Things got so heated that superstars Matthew Tkachuk and David Pastrnak dropped the gloves mid-play.

Still, Maurice and his team are in control right now. They hold a 3-1 series lead over Boston heading into Game 5. And Florida will have home ice advantage on Tuesday night. If they win, they eliminate the Bruins and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals once again. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how the Panthers and Bruins respond in Game 5.