Despite a slow scoring start, Panthers coaches are confident Sam Bennett will rebound, citing his strong defensive play and past statistical droughts.
The first few weeks of the new NHL season have been a bit of a mixed bag for the Florida Panthers.
As the team prepares to open a west coast road trip less than a month into the new campaign, the league’s back-to-back defending champions sit on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, holding a 6-5-1 record through 12 games.
It’s not terribly surprising considering that Florida has been missing several key players all season, including superstar forwards Sasha Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.
Several of the Panthers’ remaining star players have helped pick up the slack, such as the team’s co-leaders in goals Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand.
Others have not had as easy of a time maintaining their scoring numbers, and the one that stands out the most is center Sam Bennett.
Through his 12 games, Bennett has just two goals and three total points.
Not exactly what you’d expect from the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy recipient who just signed a brand-new, eight-year contract extension worth $64 million, but it’s not yet an area of concern for the coaching staff, either.
Like several of his Panthers teammates have shown in recent years, a down month or two during the regular season doesn’t mean the campaign is lost, nor does it mean that the player can’t find their way back to a normal level of production.
“Sam also had his career year in a year he had two months where the puck didn't go for him, as well,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice pointed out recently. “The defensive parts of his game are right. There’s not a lot of experience in goal scoring on his line with him right now. We just need him to hold water a little bit above that, and he'll be fine.”
As can often be the case when simply looking at statistics, they only tell part of the story.
Bennett’s current shooting percentage is just 8.0%, which would represent the lowest number for him since being acquired by Florida.
Additionally, Bennett’s defensive metrics indicate a similar story to what his offensive numbers appear to show: it’s been a bit of an unlucky stretch so far for Bennett.
“His game is actually better than the stats tell you it is,” Maurice said. “He's got four empty netters on him hanging on that (plus-)minus. But it doesn't matter. He's a very proud man, and he works really hard. He needs the puck to go in for him, so we're taking that one for sure.”
That one Maurice is referring to came during Florida’s victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night in Sunrise.
With the puck on his stick, Bennett fed forward Mackie Samoskevich and immediately started cutting toward the net. All in one motion, Samoskevich drew a defender while accepting the pass but immediately fed it to Gus Forsling, who had plenty of space and looked to get the puck to Bennett as he moved toward the net.
The pass from Forsling found its way to Bennett, and he fired a backhand that beat a sprawling Casey DeSmith to give Florida a one-goal lead late in the third period.
“I couldn’t really find it, so I was just whacking away,” Bennett said with a smile. “I’m happy that one went in for me, and the team.”
It was a big goal for the Cats, but also for Bennett, who will now look to build off the tally as he and the Panthers begin a four-game western swing Tuesday in Anaheim.
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Photo caption: Nov 1, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) moves the puck against the Dallas Stars during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)