Sam Bennett fires back at his critics after injuring Brad Marchand

Throughout his National Hockey League career, Boston Bruins forward and current captain Brad Marchand has developed a reputation as a player who not only is a notorious pest and excels at getting under his opponents skin, but who has also been suspended and fined due to his actions resulting in injury to other players.

However, the shoe (or skate) was on the other foot this time around. Marchand was hurt after taking a hit from Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett in Game 3 of their Round 2 Stanley Cup Playoffs series, and was unable to suit up in last night's Game 4; the Bruins dropped both games and now must win three straight games to avoid elimination. 

Bennett caught Marchand with a reverse check in front of the team bench, though an angle from the opposite side of the incident appears to show Bennett sucker punching the Bruins captain in the head. 

Bennett is aware that some people are accusing him of an intentionally dirty play, but he's got a message for them - it was a hockey play. 

"I was bracing myself for him coming to hit me. There's no way I would've had time to think about punching him in the head," Bennett explained. "People can see it however they want. It's playoff hockey. There's gonna be hard plays. It's unfortunate he got hit, but that's just a hockey play in my mind."

That did little to quell the rage of Bruins GM Don Sweeney, who blasted the on-ice officials and demanded that they be made available to media members afterward to answer for their decisions. 

Right now, the status of Marchand for tomorrow's game has yet to be determined, though Sweeney did confirm that he skated and would travel with the team to Florida. 

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