SUNRISE — Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett started picking off Edmonton Oilers one by one in the second period.
Lining them up. Laying them out.
First it was Vasily Podkolzin, who had the misfortune of stepping in Bennett’s way, which then had him spinning to the ice from a check after his behind the back pass to John Klingberg along the boards.
Bennett was not done. Without looking back at Podkolzin (why would he?) he continued on and honed in on Klingberg and nailed him along the boards, which started the turnover that led to a breakaway goal by …
Sam Bennett.
Bennett scored the dagger in the Panthers’ 6-1 victory in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, giving Florida a 2-1 lead in the series. Bennett froze Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner, and went right as Skinner was leaning left to push the Panthers’ lead to 4-1 and all but demoralizing Edmonton.
That sequence elicited one of the better quotes of the year from Panthers coach Paul Maurice, who’s had many of them, when asked about Bennett’s impending free agency during an in-game interview.
“He’s got a horrible attitude,” Maurice said. “I think he’s got bubonic plague. Got dengue fever. He’s got a whole bunch of things.
“We’re not sure he can be cured.”
And if it were all true, why would they want him to be?
Sam Bennett is on a heater and he’s a big reason the Panthers are two wins away from raising the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive season. The Panthers dominated the Oilers in Game 3, turning Amerant Bank Arena into one big happy zone that really got amped in the third period when the Oilers pulled Skinner and the game turned even more physical, even ugly.
The first two games of this series were a beautiful display of skill and skating. Each team winning in overtime. Game 3 was played much more to the Panthers liking.
In the trenches. Chippy. Nasty.
Which leads us back to Bennett.
While Bennett’s skill is well documented, he now has 14 postseason goals, a Panthers record, with 12 of those on the road, an NHL record , he’s as comfortable getting down and dirty as anyone.
“He’s been an animal this whole playoffs,” Panthers forward Brad Marchand said. “He’s built for this time of the year just how competitive he is, how intense. The physicality piece. That shift was the perfect example. He blows two guys up, somehow leads the rush after that, scored a beautiful goal.
“He doesn’t get fazed. He competes and battles. He’s not scared to go into the dirty areas. This time of year that’s where a lot of goals are scored.”
Just ask the Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans, who were not happy with Bennett knocking out their goalie, Anthony Stolarz, in the first game of their second round series. Stolarz, who joined the Leafs after one year with the Panthers, did not return for the rest of the series.
While Bennett was doing what he does so well, getting under the goaltender’s skin by hanging out in the crease — the dirty area. His contact with Stolarz did not appear severe but his glove and arm hit the goalie just right to cause a concussion.
And he was back at it again during the first period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, a game won by the Panthers on a Marchand goal in double overtime. Bennett was called for goaltender interference, which led to an Edmonton power play goal.
“That’s where I’m gonna be for the rest of the series,” Bennett warned about causing chaos in front of the net.
Bennett gets physical, scores 14th playoff goal in Game 3
The Best of Bennett was on display in Game 3. On both sides.
The goal saw the physical side of the Panthers’ soon-to-be-ultra-rich forward, whether he’s being paid in Florida or elsewhere. After playing bowling ball to the Oilers candlepins, Bennett could have been credited with an assist on his own goal.
Bennett got his stick on the puck before Eetu Luostarinen forced the turnover by Podkolzin, the man Bennett spun around to start his rampage.
With Bennett streaking down the ice to Luostarinen’s right, Florida suddenly was on a 2-on-none.
Luostarinen decided to let the man who is scoring goals at a rate better than anyone else in the NHL during the postseason to the honors.
“He’s capable of that,” Maurice said following the game. “Physical player, got the speed and then the hands to finish.”
All that was left was Edmonton to muck up the game even more, picking one fight after another, attempting to send a message for Game 4, according to coach Kris Knoblauch.
“I don’t think we would’ve acted or played like that had the game been a one-goal or a two-goal game,” Knoblauch said. “I think our guys were just trying to, I don’t know, boys being boys … just trying to make investments for the next game. “
The Oilers figured they would bully the Panthers in a game in which they inexplicably decided not to show up by turning it into a parade to the penalty box.
They found out, you can’t bully the bullies.
One of their targets was Bennett, which was one way to slow him down.
Bennett was one of six players to draw misconduct penalties just past the midway point of the final period. The brawl started with Trent Frederic punching Bennett, then breaking his stick crosschecking Bennett, before going back to using his glove.
Finally, Bennett reacted but that fight turned out to be the undercard to the bout between Florida’s Jonah Gadjovich and the Oilers’ Darnell Nurse that lasted so long the players tired themselves out. Gadjovich was sticking up for his teammate.
Oh, and the Oilers lost the fight, too.
At the end, the Panthers were blatantly laughing and mocking the Oilers, who lost their cool. Something you don’t want to do in South Florida.
“He’s scoring goals but he’s doing so much more other stuff,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said about Bennett. “He’s carrying the puck in the neutral zone. He’s making plays. He’s defending well.
“He’s just unreal right now.”
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Stanley Cup: It was vintage Sam Bennett to pound Oilers before breakaway goal | D’Angelo
Reporting by Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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