Florida Panthers getting two key players back as they begin three-game homestand
Sam Bennett had the game circled on his calendar.
Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2021. The Florida Panthers vs. the Calgary Flames.
His first chance to play the team that selected him fourth overall in the 2014 NHL Draft, the team he played five-and-a-half seasons with... and the team that sent him to Florida at the trade deadline last season.
“A game I was really looking forward to playing,” Bennett said.
The only problem: He didn’t play in that game. Or the two that followed.
Instead, Bennett was serving a three-game suspension handed down by the NHL for his high hit on the Montreal Canadiens’ Cedric Paquette on Jan. 1. He was limited to practice over the past week, a three-game stretch in which Florida went 2-0-1 with wins over the Flames and Carolina Hurricanes with a shootout loss to the Dallas Stars in between.
Bennett was pleased with how the Panthers played in his absence, although he would have preferred to have been on the ice with his teammates while it was happening.
“Definitely upset with how it turned out, but it was out of my control,” Bennett said Monday. “Obviously, I wasn’t intending to injure anyone or you know, feel very sad or anything like that but you know, after that it was league decision and that’s just the way it turned out.”
His suspension is now over, and Bennett will immediately be back in the lineup Tuesday when the Panthers (23-7-5) host the Vancouver Canucks (16-15-3) at FLA Live Arena to begin a three-game homestand that continues Friday against the Stars and Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“I feel fresh and feel good right now,” Bennett said. “Looking forward to playing again.”
Bennett, who is fourth on the team with 11 goals, slotted back in as the Panthers’ second-line center with Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Duclair on the wings. Those three forwards have accounted for 38 goals this season.
“It’s very comforting to know he’s back,” interim coach Andrew Brunette said. “We missed him when he’s gone. He’s been such an important part of our team, filling in that role. He was our top guy top center for a while and filled in that role. You’re a much better team with him in the lineup. So it’s fun to see him and hopefully continues with the chemistry he’s had with his line.”
And Bennett isn’t the only forward Brunette will have back Tuesday. Sam Reinhart was on the ice Monday after spending last week in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols. He skated as the right wing on Florida’s top line with Aleksander Barkov at center and Carter Verhaeghe at left wing.
With the returns of Bennett and Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Maxim Mamin slide down to the Panthers’ third forward line. Lundell spent the last three games centering the second line during Bennett’s suspension and Mamin had been on the top forward line.
That’s not a knock on the performance from Lundell or Mamin. It’s just a sign of the Panthers’ depth.
“As a coaching staff, it’s very comforting to know we have these players,” Brunette said. “They’ve earned the opportunity and we’ve given the opportunities for them to step up.”
This and that
▪ Mason Marchment, Patric Hornqvist and Spencer Knight all remain in COVID-19 protocols.
▪ Brunette said Sergei Bobrovsky will most likely start in net Tuesday against Vancouver.
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