The Boston Bruins will host the Florida Panthers for Game 4 at TD Garden Sunday night while trailing 2-1 in the second-round series.

The Boston Bruins will be without Brad Marchand for Game 4 against the Florida Panthers.

The captain is day to day with an upper-body injury after taking a hit – and an apparent punch to the head – from Sam Bennett in the first period of Game 3. Marchand returned and played in the second period, but did not come out for the third. He also did not participate in Saturday’s team practice.

“He’s a very important piece of our team and a leader, but I think we have to stick together. Play like we can, just getting better within every game,” Pavel Zacha said Sunday. “Missing him is going to be hard, but I think we have a great leadership group here that can help us with that situation.”

Marchand – who has posted 10 points (three goals, seven assists) this playoffs – is an obvious loss both on and off the ice, and the way his injury occurred has left a sour taste in Boston’s mouth.

“I just think it was outside the lines. I think it was someone that plays the game on the edge and he knew what he was doing,” Montgomery said Sunday of Bennett. “I don’t know if you’ve seen the picture from behind, but clearly, he loaded up.”

The Bruins showed little retaliation to Bennett and the Panthers team as a whole after Marchand was sidelined for the final frame. Trent Frederic said many of the players didn’t know “how bad” the hit was until after the game when they saw a replay.

“I think it pisses off everyone. I think this whole team kind of ticks everyone off to be honest,” Frederic said Sunday. “In a great world, we could just go do something about it and be fair – eyeball for an eyeball. But sometimes that’s not exactly how it works, and just gotta find your spots.”

Boston’s forward lines will shift with Marchand out. Montgomery said Danton Heinen – who has missed the last five games with an undisclosed injury – is an option for Game 4. During Saturday’s practice, Charlie Coyle centered Heinen and Frederic while Jake DeBrusk moved to play with Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak.

Pavel Zacha was moved down to the third-line pivot position between James van Riemsdyk and Justin Brazeau. The forward’s offensive production hasn’t been up to par with his regular-season performance. Montgomery said Zacha’s new slotting helps the team with more “situational matchups.”

“I think it’s great for me to be in the center,” Zacha said. “We need every line to be going, and I think that’s a great opportunity for me to help the team in that way.”

Expectedly, Montgomery did not reveal his goaltender for Sunday night. Jeremy Swayman has started in nine of the Bruins’ 10 playoff games thus far. While he was relieved by Linus Ullmark in Game 2 after giving up four goals, Swayman got the nod for Game 3 and made 27 saves. Ullmark last started on April 22 in Game 2 of the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“We talked about how we had a plan in the beginning and it always considered the fact that our goalies are not used to playing consecutive games in a short amount of period of time. That’s factoring into the decision tonight,” Montgomery said.

In terms of Boston’s backend, Montgomery did not confirm if there would be any changes with the defensive pairings. The Bruins have nine healthy defensemen to choose from since Andrew Peeke’s return from injury. Peeke slotted onto the third pair with Derek Forbort in Game 3. Parker Wotherspoon, Kevin Shattenkirk and Matt Grzelcyk were the scratches.

Sunday is not an elimination game, but it is as close as it gets to a must-win matchup for the Bruins who trail 2-1 in the series. Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. at TD Garden as Boston tries to tie things up without its captain.

“It’s very important,” Zacha said. “It’s different if you play 2-2 or 3-1. That’s something that we just have to focus on tonight’s game, have a good start.” 

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