New video may force NHL to reconsider Sam Bennett suspension

The NHL may have to reconsider it's stance of not punishing Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers after new video of his hit on Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins

While the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins are already playing game 4 of their second round 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs series, an incident from game 3 has started trending once again after a new angle has been released.

In game 3, the Panthers' Sam Bennett hit the Bruins' Brad Marchand, sending him to the ice, and knocking him out of the lineup for the next game. The original video of the hit was not a great angle, although it still looked like Bennett hit Marchand in the face intentionally. There was no call on the play.





Now, we finally have video from a camera facing both Marchand and Bennett during the play, and it shows this was a very intentional jab right to Marchand's face. There's not much to question here. A quick and very deliberate attempt to take Marchand out.




It's hard to imagine the NHL's Department of Player Safety didn't have access to this angle when determining whether Bennett should face discipline. Regardless of your opinion of Marchand or Bennett, this was a very clear attempt to hurt another player. And, it was successful. How Bennett was able to avoid any type of punishment whatsoever is baffing.

There is no word yet on whether Marchand will be able to play in game 5. While it's being referred to as an "upper-body injury," it seems fairly obvious he has a concussion, which can be very tricky when it comes to determining a timeline for a player's return.