NHL Rumors: How Player Safety Felt About Brad Marchand-Sam Bennett Incident

The Bruins clearly felt Sam Bennett crossed a line Friday night, so much so that the Panthers centers perhaps should have received a suspension.

Decision-makers in the NHL’s Player Safety Department apparently felt otherwise.

Boston openly acknowledged it didn’t have a great read on Bennett’s hit on Marchand in real-time at TD Garden. But alternate footage that surfaced well after the incident shows the Florida agitator leading with a fist, which ultimately saddled the Bruins captain with an upper-body injury.

The NHL, like the Bruins, apparently didn’t have access to the additional angles of the incident Friday. But according to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, full access at the time of the incident wouldn’t have altered the NHL’s stance.

“Talked to several people in the league about the Sam Bennett/Brad Marchand play,” Kaplan posted to X on Monday afternoon. “The NHL also didn’t see the reverse angle until Sunday, but it didn’t change how Player Safety saw it — not as a sucker punch, but as a hockey play with two players engaged.”

“Hockey play” also was the phrase Bennett used to defend his hit on Marchand. Furthermore, the 27-year-old was adamant he wasn’t trying to injure the two-time All-Star when they crossed paths early in Game 3.

Marchand was sidelined for Game 4 but traveled to Florida with Boston on Monday. His status for the Bruins’ must-win game Tuesday remains unclear.