Sam Bennett raising his game and wreaking havoc for Florida Panthers

Connor McDavid and Sam Bennett share a long history.

As youngsters, they were teammates on the same team in the Greater Toronto Area. They later competed against each other in the Ontario Hockey League and have been on opposing sides during the “Battle of Alberta” rivalry.

Last year, they also went head-to-head in the Stanley Cup Final, where Bennett`s Florida Panthers clinched the victory in a hard-fought seven-game series against McDavid`s Edmonton Oilers.

The two clubs are meeting again for the championship in June 2025.

While McDavid continues to dominate the statistics, Bennett, meanwhile, has significantly improved his performance and consistently causes chaos around the opponents` goal crease.

The 28-year-old Panthers center had netted 13 goals in these playoffs leading up to Monday`s Game 3 of the NHL`s championship series, which was tied 1-1.

However, his influence extends beyond scoring. It`s also about how Bennett impacts the flow of the game.

Known as a tough, physical player who operates right on the line, he sidelined Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz with an elbow to the head in the second round, resulting in a concussion. He then made things difficult around the net for the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final.

The six-foot-one, 193-pound Bennett, who had scored three goals in this year`s final before Monday, has continued this approach in the series against Edmonton. He has made contact with Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner on a couple of occasions. One instance led to a goal, while another resulted in a penalty for goaltender interference.

“It certainly can be difficult at times,” Bennett, who played five and a half seasons with the Calgary Flames before being acquired by Florida, said about determining the boundary with officials. “I`ve definitely been in situations where I`ve crossed that line. I never try to, but I try to play as close to that line as I can. It takes time and experience to figure out how to be as close to that line as possible without crossing it.”