Bruins Fans Will Do Double-Take On Brad Marchand’s New Team Canada Linemate

If Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand looks to his right Saturday night and sees Sam Bennett, the reaction will be a little different than we’ve come to expect.

Based on what we saw from Team Canada on Friday, Bennett, the Florida Panthers center, will likely draw into the lineup Saturday night when the Canadians take on Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

And when he does so, Marchand is expected to be riding shotgun to his left on a line that also includes Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis.

Now, that obviously is a pretty good line of hockey players, and it’s even better when you consider it might be Canada’s fourth line. That said, Marchand and Bennett might have to put aside any lingering animosity they might have. Bennett put Marchand temporarily on the shelf last spring when the Bruins and Panthers played in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Bennett punched Marchand in the face, as the two collided near the benches in Game 3.

For whatever reason, the NHL didn’t see an alternate angle of the punch until days after the game and did not hand out supplemental discipline. Marchand missed two games, presumably with some sort of head injury, before returning for Game 6 only for Florida to eliminate the B’s for a second straight season.

Marchand, to his credit, didn’t make a big deal out of it at the time, instead just saying he felt Bennett got away with one. He reiterated that point when the Bruins opened the 2024-25 season against the Panthers in Florida. That game largely went off without any major incident, save for a pair of matching roughing penalties when Bennett and Trent Frederic nearly came to blows midway through the first.

Well, that, and running Joonas Korpisalo later in the game.

The first two games of the 4 Nations Face-Off have been pleasantly competitive. These teams want to win the tournament. That means Marchand and Bennett should have no problem putting their past behind them Friday night.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be tension at Bell Centre, though. There’s no love lost between Canada and Team USA. There’s also some added intrigue with Bennett’s teammate, Matthew Tkachuk, skating on a line with his brother, Brady, and Jack Eichel. That line with its mix of skill and grit is a big reason Bennett will draw into the lineup.

As Canada head coach Jon Cooper told reporters Friday, it will be fascinating to see Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk potentially fighting for space on the ice. Chances are, Marchand won’t be far away, perhaps to the chagrin of (American) fans of the Bruins.