Sam Bennett’s last-second shot powers the Florida Panthers past the Chicago Blackhawks
On the opening night of the annual NFL Draft, it was fitting that a pair of first-round-pick rookies shined for the NHL’s Florida Panthers.
Veteran Sam Bennett scored the game-winning goal with 52 seconds left in overtime, but it was those two rookies — goalie Spencer Knight and winger Grigori Denisenko — who really made an impression in Florida’s 4-3 win over the host Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.
Denisenko, Florida’s first-round pick in 2018, picked up an assist for his first NHL point, which came in his fourth NHL game. Knight, Florida’s first-rounder in 2019, made 24 saves in his third NHL game, and he improved his record to 3-0-0.
“It’s the NHL, and everyone is really good, but my approach has always been the same,” said Knight, who played for Boston College. “I’m just trying to have fun and make some saves.
“It’s kind of just hockey, you know what I mean?”
With the win, the Panthers improved to 10-3 in overtime games this season.
The Panthers, who on Tuesday clinched their first playoff berth since 2016, used their win on Thursday to surge past the Tampa Bay Lightning for second place in the Central Division. The Panthers have 71 points — two behind the first-place Carolina Hurricanes.
Panthers coach Joel Quenneville, who won three Stanley Cups with Chicago, deserves credit for the job he has done in just his second season with his new team. But much work remains for a Panthers franchise that hasn’t won a playoff round since 1996.
On Thursday, the Panthers showed the type of resiliency that has been typical of their performances this season. They rallied from two deficits and then overcame the disappointment of allowing a score-tying goal with just 18 seconds left in regulation.
Knight was a huge part of that resiliency as he stood up to the Blackhawks in the three-on-three overtime. With lots of open ice, and the Panthers unable to make a change to get in fresh skaters, the Blackhawks controlled the puck for 123 l-o-n-g seconds, firing shot after shot.
Knowing that each of those shots represented — potentially — his first NHL loss, Knight rose to the occasion, stopping Brandon Hagel on a breakaway and Alex DeBrincat on the Panthers’ doorstep.
Knight then poke-checked Hagel and made a stellar kick save on a wrist shot by superstar Patrick Kane, who surely thought his effort from the slot was headed for the net.
After that, as the three tired Panthers skaters — Alex Wennberg, Gustav Forsling and Frank Vatrano — hung on, Chicago fired three shots that went wide. The Panthers then came up with a block, and Knight had another poke-check before the possession ended.
Bennett — the Calgary Flames’ first-round pick in 2014 — scored 80 seconds later on a rising shot that beat goalie Kevin Lankinen’s glove.
“I saw a little spot,” Bennett said of his goal. “I aimed for it, and it went in.”
Since making his Panthers debut on April 17, the 24-year-old center has produced five goals and six assists in eight games.
Bennett has at least one point in seven of his eight games with the Panthers. The Panthers are rewarding him with more playing time. In 38 games with Calgary this season, he never once played 20 or more minutes.
Quenneville, meanwhile, has put him on the ice for more than 20 minutes three times in the past four Panthers games. That helps explain why he had just four goals and eight assists in nearly half a regular-length season with the Flames and yet is averaging more than a point per game with the Panthers.
With just four games left in the regular season, Bennett’s emergence has helped the Panthers keep winning despite the injury absences of fellow forwards Patrick Hornqvist, Carter Verhaeghe and Mason Marchment.
Thursday’s win was yet another example of the Panthers’ depth as they won despite quiet nights from their two star forwards — Jonathan Huberdeau had one point and captain Aleksander Barkov had none. On the season, those two have combined for 110 points.
Also on Thursday, the Panthers got one goal and one assist each from Brandon Montour and Wennberg. Anthony Duclair, a former member of the Blackhawks, also scored for the Panthers, and MacKenzie Weegar had two assists.
Former Panthers forward Vinnie Hinostroza scored one of Chicago’s three goals. After failing to register a single point in nine games with the Panthers earlier this season, Hinostroza has three goals and seven assists in 11 contests while playing for the Blackhawks.
Go figure.
Still, the Panthers have won two straight games and six of eight as they prep for the playoffs.
“We’re definitely back to doing what we need to do when we play with puck support and speed,” Quenneville said. “We got up the ice a lot better.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 10:58 PM.