Panthers enter Game 4 in Boston looking to take control of series
Florida has won two straight games by a combined score of 12-3 after losing Game 1 at home 5-1
The Florida Panthers should be full of confidence heading into Game 4 against the Boston Bruins.
Over the past couple postseasons, Florida has done well in Boston’s Barn.
Friday’s 6-2 victory in Game 3 was the fourth playoff win in a row for the Panthers at TD Garden.
If they can make it five straight wins at their new home away from home, the Cats will take a commanding 3-1 lead in their best-of-7 second round matchup.
Much of the talk in the time between games, at least from the Boston side of things, has been about Sam Bennett and his hit on Brad Marchand during the first period of Game 3.
Marchand appeared to have Bennett lined up for a check, and it looks like Bennett noticed, slowed down and braced to deliver a reverse hit.
The force of the blow sent Marchand into the boards back-first. He continued playing but eventually left the game for good with an upper-body injury.
On Saturday, Bruins Head Coach Jim Montgomery said Marchand was considered day-to-day while giving his opinion on the Bennet hit, who Montgomery said has “a history.”
“People can say it wasn’t intentional, but we have our view of it,” Montgomery said.
On the Panthers side, there isn’t much thought being put into how their being viewed by their opponents.
One night its Matthew Tkachuk that’s the most hated guy in Boston, then its Bennett in the Bruins fans’ crosshairs…meanwhile, Florida has won two straight and is a win away from taking command of the series.
Asked about the hit on Saturday, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said he did not feel Bennett did anything sinister.
“No, and I don’t think most of you would’ve, either,” Maurice said. “It was just a collision. In a perfect world, every team has everybody healthy. Nobody likes to see anybody get hurt.”
It all certainly sets the stage for what should be an entertaining Game 4 on Mother’s Day in Boston.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings ahead of Game 4 in Boston:
Vladimir Tarasenko – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues
Steven Lorentz – Kevin Stenlund – Kyle Okposo
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua1bjCTR-yc[/embed]
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