Sam Bennett gets a taste of his own medicine, takes sucker punch from Kane
Photo credit: Sam Navarro - USA Today Sports
In the second round of the playoffs, Bennett delivered a hard, glove-on punch on the unsuspecting Boston Bruins captain that left him sidelined for the rest of Game 3 as well as the following two games of the series. The NHL chose not to suspend him for the play and the most damning angle was surprisingly not shown until after the verdict came down.
Upon further review it looked pretty conclusive that Bennett landed a sucker punch that left Marchand down and out. Without one of their key players in the lineup, Boston dropped Game 3 and 4 before finding life in Game 5. They ultimately bowed out in Game 6 in a tightly contested 2-1 defeat.
Fast forward a month later and during the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals, Bennett looked to be on the receiving end of a similar sucker punch from Edmonton Oilers' enforcer Evander Kane.
Bennett was caught off guard as he did not see the freight train coming right at him. Kane had his eyes set on the Panthers forward in the middle of the ice and when he turned around to follow the play, Bennett was caught with a stiff shot to the face - almost identical to the one he delivered on Marchand.
The Panthers wound up winning the first game of the Finals by a score of 3-0 and although their offence only mustered 17 shots on goal,
Sergei Bobrovsky stole the show with a 32-save shutout. Bennett finished the game with an assist in 15:57 TOI but drew the ire of the Oilers with his 11 hits.
Expect more of the same from Bennett and Kane in Game 2 when these teams face off again on Monday night.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
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JUIN 10 | 284 ANSWERS Sam Bennett gets a taste of his own medicine, takes sucker punch from Kane Who will win Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals? |
Florida Panthers | 177 | 62.3 % |
Edmonton Oilers | 107 | 37.7 % |
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