Patrick Maroon outs the entire Florida Panthers locker room as cowards
After Sam Bennett's sucker punch on Brad Marchand in Game 3, Patrick Maroon was looking to avenge his captain but no one answered the bell, much to his chagrin.
The NHL surprisingly didn't suspend or fine Bennett for his dangerous play on Marchand that not only forced the Boston Bruins' captain out of the game but he also ended up missing Game 4. The Bruins jumped to a 2-0 lead but couldn't hold on as the Florida Panthers rallied with 3 unanswered goals to force them on the brink of elimination.
Maroon was looking for blood and his antics were obvious from even before the puck was dropped. He was seen chatting with Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky during warm-ups and in his first few shifts of the game was looking for a dance partner but no one seemed to be willing to drop the gloves:
"I'm sure everyone's wondering why I haven't done anything. It's not like I haven't tried. I love my captain and I love the guys. Everyone looking at me to do something. I have tried and I am trying."
Asked if he thinks any Panther would fight him: "No."
To his credit, Maroon tried but Bennett wanted no part of it. While it is an unwritten rule and a well known fact that players have to answer for their dirty plays, the Panthers did what they thought was the right move.
You don't want to give the Bruins any sort of momentum to crawl back into the series, especially on home ice. On top of the fact that Bennett just recently returned to the lineup after suffering through a broken hand/wrist injury - and is most likely still playing through the pain. At that rate, you're playing into the Bruins' game and putting one of your better players in jeopardy of re-injury with your team on the cusp of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Panthers don't have an enforcer to oblige to Maroon's demands as their heaviest skater is Vladimir Tarasenko at about 228 pounds and their tallest players being both Aaron Ekblad and Kevin Stenlund at 6'4 are not known for their fighting abilities. Bennett has no excuse, though, as he has plenty of fights under his belt and is the one who took out Marchand.
After firing just 18 shots on goal last night and just 50 in total over the last 3 games, the Bruins have to avoid any and all distractions and look for ways to not only beat Bobrovsky but generate offense in general.
| POLL | ||
MAI 13 | 690 ANSWERS Patrick Maroon outs the entire Florida Panthers locker room as cowards Do the Boston Bruins have a chance to come back from a 3-1 deficit in Round 2? | ||
| Absolutely not, they're being thoroughly dominated | 389 | 56.4 % |
| One game at a time but it doesn't look promising | 255 | 37 % |
| I say they do it | 46 | 6.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
