Bruins’ Marchand to miss Game 4 against Panthers with upper-body injury

It is confirmed that one of the most important players in the Boston Bruins lineup will be out longer than some fans hope.

On Sunday, head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed to the media that captain Brad Marchand will not play in Game 4 of the Atlantic Division Finals against the Florida Panthers due to an upper-body injury.

Marchand was injured during the third game of the series after receiving what has become a controversial hit in the first period by Florida forward Sam Bennett. The Halifax native played sparingly throughout the first two periods, but did not return for the third.

Montgomery revealed that Marchand was listed as day-to-day with the aforementioned upper-body injury on Saturday, but in his recent update, he did not say whether or not Marchand had received a concussion as a result of the incident. However, he did say that Marchand was with the team on Sunday at a team meeting, but said he felt like it was his fault his players didn’t “retaliate” on the hit.

When initially discussing the hit on Saturday, Montgomery gave his thoughts.

“There’s a history there with Bennett,” Montgomery said. “There’s clearly evidence of what went on. People can say it wasn’t intentional. We have our view of it.”

There is ongoing speculation about whether or not Bennett threw a punch at Marchand while delivering the check. Panthers coach Paul Maurice doesn’t think that was the case.

“It was just a collision,” Maurice said. “In a perfect world, every team has everybody healthy. Nobody likes to see him get hurt.”

Marchand played 10:51 in two periods, registering five hits but no shots on goal. Florida won the game, 6-2, taking a 2-1 lead in the Atlantic Division Final.

Marchand has been a big-time player in the playoffs for the Bruins over the years. The 35-year-old has three goals and 10 points in Boston’s 10 playoff games. He scored eight points in the team’s opening-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, doing so in the first four games against the Leafs. Marchand registered two goals and an assist in the Bruins’ 4-2 win in Game 3 last month.

The Halifax, Nova Scotia native scored 29 goals and 67 points in 82 games during the regular season, the ninth straight season Marchand has hit the 60-point mark. It was also the first time since the 2013-14 season that he played the entire regular season. Marchand had been banged up in stretches over the last two campaigns.

In 1,029 games, Marchand has scored 401 goals and 929 points, including scoring 56 goals and 138 points in 156 career playoff appearances.

Game 4 between the Bruins and Panthers is set for 6:30 p.m. ET in Boston.