Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett skates in his first practice of the 2023-24 regular season after suffering an injury during a preseason game. Monday’s matchup with the Boston Bruins proved to be quite rough for the Florida Panthers, and not only because they lost in overtime after jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Two of Florida’s players, center Sam Bennett and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, left the game early due to injuries and did not return. Bennett’s injury, which appeared to be to his left leg [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/sam-bennett-suffers-apparent-leg-injury-during-first-game-of-season], came after a tie-up at the side of the net with Boston defenseman Hampus Lindholm. By all indications, there was no ill intent. The injury to Ekman-Larsson, however, sure looks like it was much more avoidable. After the puck had long left his stick, Ekman-Larsson was caught with a blindside hit to the head by Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy. Officials deemed the hit worthy of a match penalty, and that decision was upheld after a video review. McAvoy was out of the game, as was Ekman-Larsson. Afterwards, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice had no update on either Bennett or Ekman-Larsson, other than that both would be reevaluated the following day. Florida had the day off Tuesday, so there wouldn’t be any official updates until Wednesday when the Panthers are set to practice in Detroit. Based off the severity of the hit, and the lack of any reasoning that it was a legal hockey play, it didn’t come as much of a surprise when the NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Tuesday that it would be holding a hearing with McAvoy regarding the hit. The hit to Ekman-Larsson wasn’t the only instance of McAvoy seemingly targeting the head of a Panthers player on Monday. Earlier in the game during the first period, when Florida forward Carter Verhaeghe had the puck in front of Boston’s net, McAvoy came through the slot and caught Verhaeghe above the shoulders. That hit seemingly went unnoticed by the officials, but not Maurice or the Panthers. Ultimately, the NHL Department of Player Safety deemed McAvoy's behavior worthy of a four-game suspension. The league mentioned McAvoy's history, having been both fined and suspended once before, in a video explaining its determination of the suspension. Whether the hit on Verhaeghe came up during the hearing for the hit on Ekman-Larsson is something we may never know. According to the NHL, McAvoy's suspension will cost him $197,916.68. The money will go into the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund. LATEST THN FLORIDA STORIES Three takeaways: Top line good, head hits very bad, power play still struggling [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/features/three-takeaways-top-line-good-head-hits-very-bad-power-play-still-struggling-] Bennett, Ekman-Larsson injured in Panthers overtime loss to Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/bennett-ekman-larsson-injured-in-panthers-overtime-loss-to-bruins] Sam Bennett suffers apparent leg injury during first game of season [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/sam-bennett-suffers-apparent-leg-injury-during-first-game-of-season] Florida Panthers Sam Bennett to make regular season debut in Boston [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/florida-panthers-sam-bennett-to-make-regular-season-debut-in-boston] Panthers return to Boston for first time since massive playoff upset [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-return-to-boston-for-first-time-since-massive-playoff-upset] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
