Trent Frederic Candidly Reveals Bruins’ Reaction To Sam Bennett’s Hit

If the Bruins play with an extra edge Sunday night at TD Garden, it won’t take a hockey expert to tell you why.

Boston will play without its captain in Game 4 against the Florida Panthers. Brad Marchand will be sidelined due to an upper-body injury he sustained Friday night from a hit by Sam Bennett, who Jim Montgomery believes led with intent when he cracked the Bruins star in Game 3.

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Trent Frederic admittedly couldn’t gauge the severity of the hit on Marchand in real time. But after watching replays of the incident, the Bruins forward became miffed and then some about what went down.

“I think it pisses off everyone,” Frederic told reporters Sunday, per a team-provided video. “I think this whole team kind of ticks everyone off, to be honest. So, there’s some individuals that maybe make guys more frustrated, more mad. It’s frustration, but you still have to go out and do the job. We’re still down 2-1 and trying to make it 2-2 tonight.”

Boston might have retaliation on its mind when it hits the ice Sunday night. But as Frederic explained, gaining retribution requires a delicate balance, especially in the postseason.

“It’s a really fine line,” Frederic told reporters. “I’m sure all of these refs are aware of what happened the last three games, what happened last game. In a great world, we can just go do something about it and be fair — eyeball for an eyeball. But sometimes that’s not exactly how it works. Just got to find your spot.”

Of course, Boston’s top priority Sunday should be sticking to the gameplan it believes will help the club even the best-of-seven set. The puck will drop at 6:30 p.m. ET, but you can catch pregame coverage on NESN an hour prior.