Panthers forward Sam Bennett speaks after Florida's 6-3 loss in Washington on Feb. 4. The anticipation is palpable among the NHL players still at the 4 Nations Face-Off, which wraps up later this week in Boston. That’s because the championship game of the best-on-best tournament features the United States and Canada, two of the most heated rivals in all of international hockey. Adding fuel to the fire is what went down on Saturday night in Montreal, when the U.S. and Canada met in the preliminary round. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] Three fights in nine seconds is how the game began, and from there it was a hotly contested, physically imposing hockey game featuring many of the best players in the world. One of the players involved in the fighting fun was Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett. Bennett has been used somewhat sparingly by Canadian Head Coach Jon Cooper, surely at least partially due to the ridiculous depth that they have down the middle, but his usage has increased as the tournament has gone on. As we all know, Bennett is one of those guys who impacts the game in many ways that don’t necessarily show up on the score sheet. Opposing players must always be aware when Bennett is on the ice, as his combination of physicality and speed can put you in quite the predicament before even realizing it. Tuesday at TD Garden, Bennett sat down with members of the media and discussed the tournament to this point, some of his experiences and his thoughts ahead of Thursday’s title match with the United States: On getting a rematch with Team USA: “We played a great game the other night and put ourselves in the spot where we get a rematch against the U.S. It's what we want. I think it's what all the fans wanted too, so I'm sure it's going to be another intense game. It's going to be physical, it's going to be fast, and I'm really excited for that game again.” On feeding off playing in hostile environments: “Yeah, I definitely have been the villain in a lot of the buildings, definitely in this building before. So yeah, I enjoy that role. I'm sure the atmosphere is going to be just as intense as it was at the Bell Centre. I can't wait to see what it's going to be like.” On how Thursday’s game compares to a Stanley Cup Final Game 7: “It's definitely really close. The excitement, the anticipation, how badly we want it, it's right up there with the Stanley Cup Final. This is important to a lot of people in the country, and I know it's really important to every single guy in our locker room, so we're going to be giving it our all on Thursday.” On the importance of creating rebound opportunities against Team USA: “I think we can do a better job at getting more traffic and more pucks to the net, just creating a little bit more chaos in front of the net, and that's how we're going to generate some more chances. We definitely let them off the hook and made it too easy for them the last time we played them, so I think that's going to be a key for us on Thursday.” On the opportunity to have Sidney Crosby as a teammate: “It's a surreal experience just being around him every day. He's such an awesome guy and such an incredible pro, so to just watch him every day, watch how he treats everyone, how he looks after himself, and his dedication to the game, it's pretty remarkable. It's inspiring to watch your idol every day, and I feel honored to just be sharing the same jersey as him.” On what his phone looked like after Saturday’s game against the Americans: ” I got quite a few texts. People were pretty excited about that game, it was a big moment. A lot of lot of friends and family reached out, and were just saying how cool that moment was.” On if he thinks the rematch with the U.S. could have a similar start to Saturday’s game: “I mean, never say never, but I don't really anticipate that. I think the messages were sent in that last game, and this game, it's all about winning. It's not about who's tougher, who can intimidate more. It's about winning, and that's our main goal.” On U.S. defenseman Charlie McAvoy being out for the final: “That's definitely a big blow for the U.S. team. He's a great player, he plays hard, he's great defensively. That’s definitely a tough loss for them.” On heading into a Game 7 situation with Connor McDavid: “He's a dangerous player, especially when he's motivated and when he wants to win. I think even you've seen in this tournament how he can just control games, and even against the best players in the world, he's still dominating games. That's how good he is. I know this one is important to him, so I'm sure he's going to be extra motivated Thursday night.” LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Sam Reinhart, Sasha Barkov earn coaches’ praise at 4 Nations Face-Off [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/sam-reinhart-sasha-barkov-earn-coaches-praise-at-4-nations-face-off] Injured Matthew Tkachuk to miss Team USA game vs. Sweden [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/injured-matthew-tkachuk-to-miss-team-usa-game-vs-sweden] Jesse Puljujarvi has strong debut for Florida Panthers' AHL affiliate [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/jesse-puljujarvi-has-strong-debut-for-florida-panthers-ahl-affiliate] Barkov, Lundell come up big for Finland, creating 4 Nations logjam behind Team USA [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/barkov-lundell-come-up-big-for-finland-creating-4-nations-logjam-behind-team-usa] Matthew Tkachuk has 'no concern at all' about injury that kept him from end of USA win over Canada [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/matthew-tkachuk-has-no-concern-at-all-about-injury-that-kept-him-from-end-of-usa-win-over-canada] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
