Boston Bruins fans are outraged after Sam Bennett received a fine for roughing
Last night, Florida Panthers tough guy Sam Bennett punched Pittsburgh Penguins forward Drew O'Connor and Bruins fans are now outraged with the punishment.
The Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers have one of the most underrated rivalries in hockey right now. After the Bruins set records in 2022-23, they were eliminated in the first round by the underdog Panthers who went on to the Stanley Cup Final to lose to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The next year, the Panthers and Bruins met again in the playoffs, this time with the Panthers also eliminating the Bruins. One of the major storylines in that series was how Brad Marchand was sidelined after a hit from Sam Bennett.
The original angles showed how it was seemingly a normal hit, a later revealed angle showed that Bennett punched Marchand in the face, which sidelined him.
Bennett received no penalty or supplemental discipline for this play.
Last night, Bennett pulled off a similar play on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Drew O'Connor. The broadcast was quick to mention the similarities between this play and Marchand's.
Today, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Bennett would receive a $5,000 fine for his hit on O'Connor.
This fine bothered Bruins fans as they felt that it should have been a suspension and should have been a suspension back when Bennett hurt Marchand.
It does not look like Bennett will stop anytime soon and will likely need to be suspended before he actually takes any measures to play cleaner. Hopefully, the victim of his next hit walks away injury-free, unlike Marchand.
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