On Thursday, Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand spoke publicly for the first time since taking a controversial hit from Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett in Game 3 of the Second Round. Here's how members of the Florida Panthers responded.

BOSTON -- Brad Marchand did not mince words when addressing the hit he took from Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett, which caused him to exit Game 3 of the Boston Bruins' Eastern Conference Second Round series against Florida on May 10.

Bennett appeared to deliver a punching motion to Marchand's head in the middle of the hit, which has kept Marchand out of the past two games with an upper-body injury. Bennett insisted he did not intentionally injure Marchand, but the Bruins captain did not complain about the play either way.

“[Bennett] plays hard. He’s an extremely physical player, great player for the group. I think he got away with a shot, but I’m not going to complain," Marchand said on Thursday. "[Stuff] happens, that’s part of, especially, playoff hockey. I’ve been on the other side of a lot of plays, and I think he got away with one, but that’s part of the game.”

Marchand also believes an unspoken truth of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is "trying to hurt every player on the other team, and the more guys you take out, the more advantage your team has.”

Panthers coach Paul Maurice, who continues to make his press conferences must-see events, staunchly disagreed with Marchand's take.

"No, I don't think our game would last 10 minutes if that were true because the referees would put everybody in the [penalty] box," Maurice said after Friday's morning skate. "I don't believe that's true at all, I think it's just all things are more focused."

Maurice believes the focus lies in players completing every hit and going all out on a physical level, which inherently leads to more injuries. He said it applies even more to the Panthers and Bruins specifically, since the two are engaged in a more physical series.

In Game 5 on Tuesday, the two teams combined for 72 hits. In Game 4, it was 87, with each team dishing out more than 40. As a comparison, in the last two games in the New York Rangers-Carolina Hurricanes series, those two teams combined for 55 hits in Game 5 and 58 in Game 6. New York finished the series with a comeback win on Thursday to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour, who got into a spat with Marchand after scoring in Florida's 6-1 win in Game 2 on May 8, also disagreed with what Marchand said, instead going with a simpler explanation.

"I think you just play hard, to be honest," Montour said on Friday. "Things happen in a fast game that guys get injured throughout series, throughout playoffs. I think, for our sake, we just play hard and play between the whistles and whatever comes with that, comes with that."

The Panthers were not alone in their sentiment; Bruins coach Jim Montgomery had a similar opinion. 

"I always thought it was, 'We're gonna make him pay,'" he said. "Every foot of ice, you're gonna earn it. And that's where there's more injuries in the playoffs, because everybody gives everything they have. 

"It's not a Tuesday night in Winnipeg or a Thursday night in L.A. You're fighting for your season."

Montgomery added that he liked Marchand's intensity, which he's hoping will come into play on Friday if Marchand does indeed suit up for Game 6. 

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