i love the hatred of this series, but the league absolutely set the table for someone potentially doing something really stupid that has significant consequences by ignoring the bennett play.
i'm all for finding any way to gain an advantage. its the playoffs, if you ain't cheatin you ain't tryin and if they don't call it, it ain't a penalty. i'd take marchand or bennett on my team any day. i don't think bennett had any thought the result would be what it was...i don't think he had any thought at all there. however...it was a dirtbag rabbit punch he executed perfectly as far as obscuring it from the refs eyes within them making contact. like, you simply are lying to yourself if you can't look at that and admit that was absolutely intentional. it's a grimy play that likely almost always catches a guy in the visor or in the muff and the consequences don't go beyond pissing him off. this one caught the bruins captain on the button. sorry, but that's gotta mean games. the league completely fk'd this up, and it puts everyone on both teams in a lot more dangerous situation. basically sitting on a powder keg and decided to light up a cigar. them letting that go is insane...and it means that this will be played out at a temperature of cremate...with a significant chance someones wires completely cross and they do something really stupid.