NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett authored a rare “Gordie Howe hat trick” in his team’s 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.
Bennett was fresh off a memorable 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, where he scored the tying goal for Team Canada in its title-clinching win over the United States in Boston, and also took part in the fight-night opener in which he battled American forward Brady Tkachuk at center ice in Montreal. On Tuesday, he had a goal, an assist and a fight against the Predators at Bridgestone Arena.
Bennett, who opened the scoring in the first period with his 19th goal, a power-play tally that was assisted by Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov, squared off Nashville forward Cole Smith in the Predators zone after a scrum in front of the net with 13:45 left in the third period.
“It’s a part of the game, standing up for your teammates,” Smith said of the fight. “So, yeah, it’s part of the game.”
Bennett capped off the trick with an assist on Mackie Samoskevich‘s ninth goal of the season, which concluded the scoring at 15:34 of the final period.
The headlines are coming at the perfect time for the 28-year-old Bennett, who has been to the Stanley Cup Final two straight seasons with Florida, and will be an unrestricted free agent in July. He is in the final year of a deal that carries a salary cap hit of $4.425 million, and the tough-minded forward figures to be in line for a major raise.
The winning goal, though, belonged to a newer Panther, prospect Justin Sourdif, promoted from the AHL while some of Florida’s forwards, such as injured Matthew Tkachuk, work their way back into the lineup. Sourdif scored his first NHL goal in the second period.
“The thing that I enjoy the most is how happy the bench is when they score. The veteran guys cheer for those kids,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “That’s so important to make them feel comfortable and feel like they are a part of it and belong.”
Spencer Knight made 18 saves for the Panthers, and Juuse Saros stopped 21 shots for the Predators. Michael McCarron scored the lone goal for Nashville.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.