Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett cannot catch a break as he is once again looking at missing time due to injury following an incident in Monday’s 3-2 overtime loss against the Boston Bruins.
Bennett had to be helped off the ice as he was not able to apply pressure to his left skate.
Here is the injury to Sam Bennett. Appears to be his left ankle. Just awful to see. pic.twitter.com/roNaAOXtb7
— David Dwork (@DavidDwork) October 31, 2023
Having been taken off injured reserve before the game, Bennett was making his season debut after missing the Panthers’ first eight games due to an injury sustained in the preseason.
His return to the lineup was an immediate boon for the Panthers as the team out-chanced the Bruins 14-to-1, outshot them 7-to-1, and controlled 83.24% of the expected goals when Bennett was on the ice during his 7:54 of ice-time.
Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice did not provide a timeframe on Bennett after the game, stating that they will have a clearer picture of the extent of his injury tomorrow.
Maurice on Bennett:
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) October 31, 2023
“We’ll look at him tomorrow. Fortunately we’ve got a couple days here. He was walking around after, but we won’t know until tomorrow.”
OEL will also get looked at tomorrow.
Should Bennett miss additional time, his absence will be a major loss for the Florida Panthers as they try to improve upon their current 6th place standing in the Atlantic Division.
The Panthers have been competitive in most games this season but have seemingly been missing an extra punch to get them over the top in games. Bennett’s return looked like it could have provided the team with that, but now they may have to wait for Bennett’s return or that of Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour, who are both yet to play this season.
On-ice statistics: Natural Stat Trick
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