Panthers’ Sam Bennett Fined, Not Suspended for Cross-Checking Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting
Toronto Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe compared the cross-check to the one Auston Matthews laid on Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin last season. Matthews was suspended for two games.
Sam Bennett will not be suspended for cross-checking Michael Bunting on the side of the head during the Florida Panthers’ 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 2 of the second-round playoff series.
The NHL's Department of Player Safety announced that Bennett was fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement for cross-checking Butning.
Bennett was at the center of two controversial hits on Thursday. The first one was a takedown of Maple Leafs rookie Matthew Knies. The Toronto forward left the game as a result of the hit after the first period.
The second hit occurred later in the game when Bennett cross-checked Bunting in the side of the head while in front of the net.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was not pleased with either hit after the game, but singled out Bennett's cross-check of Bunting that was similar to one that saw discipline.
"I'm sure the cross-check on Bunting was eerily similar to the one we saw with Auston (Matthews) last year in the outdoor game," Keefe said. "We know how that one worked out. So the league will look at these kind of things."
Matthews was suspended for two games for the cross-check.
Bunting stopped himself from retaliating on the hit from Bennett, likely due to the fact that he had already been suspended for three games and did not want to bring more attention to himself from the officials.
The Maple Leafs are down 2-0 in their second-round series with the Panthers and it will be interesting to see how Toronto responds to the lack of strong discipline on NHL Player Safety on Bennett.
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