Bruins captain Brad Marchand gets refreshingly honest about Sam Bennett incident
Bruins captain Brad Marchand wasn’t going to throw himself a pity party over the Sam Bennett punch that knocked him out of Game 3, as well as Games 4 and 5, of Boston’s second-round series with the Panthers. After all, Marchand himself knows that the party wouldn’t have been well attended.
“I think he got away with a shot, but I’m not going to complain,” Marchand admitted following Thursday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “I mean, shit happens. And that’s part of [hockey], and especially playoff hockey. You know, I’ve been on on the other side of a lot of plays and I think he got away with one, but I mean, that’s part of the game and definitely part of playoff hockey.
“Yeah, it sucks to be on the other side of it, but that stuff happens. So I’m not going to sit here and complain about it, that’s part of the game. And yeah, I think he got away with one. But it is what it is.”
Despite the fact that there was no fine or suspension for Bennett from the NHL Department of Player Safety, the Bruins have made no bones about their feelings on the incident. B’s coach Jim Montgomery said that there was a clear ‘load-up’ from Bennett’s right hand on the collision with Marchand, and alluded to the fact that the Bruins had their angles that proved as much.
But Marchand knows that the Panthers were simply following a not-so-secret formula to postseason success that extends far beyond Florida, and extends far beyond just this year’s postseason.
“People don’t want to say it, but part of playoffs is trying to hurt every player on the other team,” Marchand acknowledged. “The more guys you take out, the more advantage your team has. And people don’t say that, but that’s just a fact of the game. Every time you step on the ice, someone’s trying to hurt someone. That’s just how it goes in playoffs. And any time you can get an advantage on a team, it’s gonna help your team win. And that’s part of the benefit of having a physical group, and that’s why you see teams go the distance with big D corps and physical teams, and it’s why you rarely see teams that are small and skilled go far because they get hurt. That’s part of it.”
Marchand did note that maybe things would’ve gone differently had the angle that came out just before Game 4 had come out earlier, but Marchand clearly didn’t want to take anything away from Bennett as a player, especially knowing that it’s a style that he himself has played and will continue to play.
“He’s a competitor,” Marchand said of Bennett. “Like the guys on that team, they compete hard and they play that way. I mean, that’s the way you want your guys to play in the playoffs. And that’s the way that teams win usually play. And that’s how we’ve been playing. We play hard. And you know when that happens, guys get caught sometimes and sometimes guys get hurt. Again, I’m not going to complain about it. It is what it is. And that’s playoff hockey. That’s what makes winning a Cup so hard to do.
“That’s what makes it so gratifying, is you got to play through situations like this and you got to be able to go through the adversity. You know, we went through it the year we won and with [Nathan Horton] going down and other guys getting hurt and you come out of it and it’s it’s how you respond as a team and how you bounce back from this stuff. But that’s playoff hockey.”
Marchand himself has admitted that it’s a style of play that allowed him to break through in Boston, and as a champion as a pest-turned-sniper for the 2011 team, and seemingly knows that suddenly becoming someone who is against this style of play would make him hockey’s greatest hypocrite.
“And yeah maybe people don’t like it, but it’s not soccer. It’s not basketball. It’s the hardest trophy to win,” Marchand said of that take-no-prisoners style that he found himself on the wrong side of this time around. “When you’re playing, you’re willing to sacrifice your body and want to hurt other guys and do whatever it takes to win. And, if you don’t like it, don’t play in the playoffs. But it’s the best time of the year. And if I have to get hurt to win, if I have to hurt someone to win, I don’t care. That’s part of it.
“I’m not going to complain, because if I’m him, I’m doing the same thing, you know? So I’m not going to complain. That’s the game. And that’s how you win.”
Bruins officially have their 'Black Aces' from Providence
A detail of the Boston Bruins logo on a player’s sweater during a game. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Up front, the recall bonanza began with forward Joey Abate.
In his second year of AHL play, the 6-foot-1 Abate scored three goals, and set AHL-career bests in assists (10), points (13), and games played (53) for Ryan Mougenel’s squad this past season. Abate was also Providence’s leader in penalty minutes, with 132, which also ranked as the 11th-most in all of the AHL.
The 25-year-old Abate has six goals and 19 points in 88 AHL games over the last two seasons.
Sep 26, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Boston Bruins center Trevor Kuntar (52) deflects a shot on Buffalo Sabres goaltender Devon Levi (27) during the first period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
A third-round pick of the Bruins back in 2020, Trevor Kuntar had a respectable start to his pro career this past season, with 10 goals and 20 points in 70 games for AHL Providence.
Considered a physical type who can get to the front of the net, Kuntar ranked third among all P-Bruins skaters with 146 shots on goal this past season, while his 113 minutes in penalties were the second-most on the Bruins.
Oct 2, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Bruins center Marc McLaughlin (26) and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Cam York (8) battle for position during the third period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
A right shot capable of playing both center and wing, Marc McLaughlin rejoins the Big B’s after a 2023-24 AHL campaign that featured eight goals and 14 points in 68 games for Providence.
The North Billerica, Mass. native has made 14 appearances for the Bruins in his NHL career, with four goals, 17 shots, and 21 hits over that run.
McLaughlin made one NHL appearance this past regular season, and scored a goal, along with four hits and one blocked shot, in that outing.
Sep 29, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Georgii Merkulov (42) skates with the puck during the third period against the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)
Providence’s leading scorer for the second season in a row, Georgii Merkulov is returning to the NHL after a season that featured 30 goals and 65 points in 67 AHL games played.
Merkulov made four appearances for the Bruins during the regular season, and finished with two hits, four blocks, and three shots on goal while losing 22 of his 28 faceoffs and averaging 10:35 of time on ice for Boston.
Sep 24, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Anthony Richard (90) skates against the New York Rangers during the first period at TD Garden. (Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports)
Another speedy bottom-six type, Anthony Richard will return to the Bruins after a regular season that featured 25 goals and 55 points in 59 AHL games for Providence, along with a nine-game run with Boston. During his nine-game run with the Bruins, Richard scored one goal and totaled three points, and racked up 25 hits and five blocked shots.
Richard has made 24 NHL appearances since 2018-19, with four goals and eight points over that run, which has come with appearances for Nashville, Montreal, and Boston.
Dec 15, 2023; Elmont, New York, USA; Boston Bruins center Oskar Steen (62) skates against the New York Islanders during the second period at UBS Arena. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)
The longest tenure Bruin among the recalls, the 26-year-old Steen has appeared in 60 NHL games for the Bruins over the last four NHL seasons, and has been in Providence since the 2019-20 season.
A 5-foot-9 wing, Steen made a career-high 34 appearances for the Bruins this past regular season, and though he established career-highs in hits (79) and blocks (19), he also scored just one goal and zero assists over that 34-game run.
Sep 24, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Michael Callahan (79) checks a shot by New York Rangers center Jake Leschyshyn (15) during the second period at TD Garden. (Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports)
A 6-foot-2 left-shot defenseman hailing out of Franklin, Mass., Michael Callahan put up a career-high four goals, 13 assists, and 17 points in 70 games for the P-Bruins this past season.
Callahan has played three years with AHL Providence to this point, with six goals and 27 points, along with a minus-20, in 140 total games since 2022.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – NOVEMBER 09: Ian Mitchell #14 of the Boston Bruins looks on during the first period against the New York Islanders at TD Garden on November 09, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
An early-season regular for the Boston backend, Ian Mitchell is back with Boston after an AHL season that included six goals and 24 points in 42 games for Providence. With Boston for 13 appearances this past regular season, Mitchell posted two assists, along with a plus-6 rating and 13 blocks, while averaging 15:18 for the Big B’s.
Sep 26, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Michael DiPietro (80) looks for the puck during the second period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. (Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports)
And in goal, Michael DiPietro will join Brandon Bussi as the two emergency backups behind the Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark combo in goal for the Bruins. Given the call for 30 appearances this season, DiPietro posted an 18-9-2 record for Providence this past season, and his .918 save percentage ranked seventh-best among qualifying goalies.
DiPietro, who was acquired from the Canucks in the Jack Studnicka trade made early in the 2022-23 season, signed an extension with the Bruins for 2024-25 earlier this year.
