SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers have announced that Sam Bennett, who is currently their second-highest scorer this season, will not be participating in Tuesday night’s matchup against the New Jersey Devils due to an upper-body injury.
Bennett has made a significant contribution to the team’s performance, tallying nine goals and six assists in the first 15 games of the season. His 15 total points position him just behind Sam Reinhart, making this his most productive season start thus far.
Previously, his best performance through the first 15 games occurred two seasons ago, during which he accumulated 10 points.
The specifics of the injury remain unclear, but head coach Paul Maurice mentioned after the morning skate that he did not plan any changes to the lineup besides starting Spencer Knight in goal instead of Sergei Bobrovsky.
Mackie Samoskevich will take over Bennett’s position in the forward lineup for this game.
Now in his 11th season in the NHL, Bennett has achieved a career total of 300 points—comprising 146 goals and 154 assists—over 630 games played for both the Calgary Flames and the Florida Panthers. He also contributed to Florida’s postseason effort last year, where he scored seven goals and provided seven assists during their journey to the Stanley Cup finals.
The Panthers will face the New Jersey Devils again this Thursday and will then welcome the Winnipeg Jets for another game on Saturday.