Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand gives honest take on Sam Bennett hit

If there is one thing about Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand, it's that he never holds back or minces words. Another thing about Marchand is he tells it like it is, whether or not fans want to hear it or not. That was the case Thursday morning at Warrior Ice Arena following the Black and Gold's practice ahead of Friday night's Game 6 at the TD Garden.

Marchand has missed the last two games in the series after taking what appears to be a punch from Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett in the first period of Game 3 last Friday night. You could tell right away that Marchand was stung, but being the gamer he is, he stayed in the game through the second period before not returning for the final period.

He would end up missing Games 4 and 5, but his teammates gave him an opportunity to return to the series for Game 6 by avoiding elimination in Game 5 with a 2-1 victory in South Florida. It's not guaranteed that he will return for Game 6, but things appear to be trending in the right direction as long he "checks some boxes" Friday morning.

Brad Marchand gives honest take on Sam Bennett

After practice Thursday, Marchand spoke to the media about the hit he received from Bennett and what Stanley Cup Playoff hockey is truly about.

That is an honest take and one that not a lot of people are going to want to hear. The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy of all the major sports to win. Actually in any sport. Winning 16 games over two months playing the game at the speed they play it at, injuries are going to happen. It's all about gaining an advantage at this point in the season and knowing Marchand, as a Stanley Cup champion, he knows what it takes and him not being upset and taking the high road about what Bennett did is not surprising. They want the Cup too.