2024-25 Playoff Focus: Sam Bennett (GM3 vs. EDM)
Need for speed
Contrary to popular opinion, Sam Bennett isn’t all cheap shots and net-front offense. His wheels are just as important to his impact as his sandpaper. No, seriously. At his best, Florida’s 2C uses smart off-puck routes and efficient puck-handling to push a feverish pace in transition.
Paul Maurice praised his speed—as well as his chemistry with Matthew Tkachuk—prior to the Stanley Cup Final:
“Matthew's hands and his IQ and where he puts pucks and all those things lets Sam run a little bit. I don't mean run around. I mean lets him get his speed up. ... He's a very fast player. It might be the underrated part of him is how quickly he can get up the ice.”
The veteran pivot presented Tkachuk with a quality target on his very first shift Monday night and carried that tendency through 40 minutes (only 3 shifts in the final frame), converting the slightest opening into north-south danger:
Low swing (FLA 9) into a Tkachuk (FLA 19) chip pass off the wall. Rather than immediately dishing to Evan Rodrigues (FLA 17) out wide, he hangs on until the red line, compelling Mattias Janmark (EDM 13) to challenge his possession. The moment the Oilers forward slows down for a stick check, Bennett knows he can dart inside on a give-and-go. He’s nearly sprung in alone 80 seconds into the contest.
On a NZ reload—and with Brad Marchand (FLA 63) up the wall—Bennett settles into a pocket between the two Oilers forecheckers. Both Adam Henrique (EDM 19) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkings (EDM 93) try to seal the strong-side boards, leaving a central option for Nate Schmidt (FLA 88) to exploit. Pitch-and-catch for a transition wrister.
Fresh off a line change, he curls under Edmonton’s F3 (Viktor Arvidsson, EDM 33), who’s half-committed to completing his own change. Since John Klingberg (EDM 36) is already applying puck pressure, Rodrigues can now connect the dots in middle ice. Bennett doesn’t quite uncork the shot he wants, but this sequence demonstrates how comfortable he is slashing up ice.
Thanks to his timing, spacing and skating, the Panthers broke the puck out and built velocity in their sleep. They were in attack mode. Better yet, he also deployed his tempo on the forecheck:
Slipping past Edmonton’s soft obstruction (Henrique) allows him to drive through Brett Kulak (EDM 27) on a DZ retrieval. This forces Henrique into a contested touch that Schmidt ultimately directs back toward the goal line.
From here, watch the difference in urgency. Bennett dips his shoulder and slides his left leg in front of Kulak (position first), spins off a flimsy check and rims the puck to Rodrigues before his counterpart can get his stick on the ice. There are levels to, well, compete level.
In Maurice’s system, these changes of possession often turn into scoring chances in a hurry. Monday night was no exception:
On a pair of second-period dump-ins, Edmonton wants NOTHING to do with Bennett’s physicality. First, it’s Klingberg. Then it’s Leon Draisaitl (EDM 29). Jake Walman (EDM 96) could scoop up the puck in the second clip, but then he’d have to deal with the consequences. Bennett petrifies Edmonton on retrieval, and as a result, the Panthers launch two quick-strike volleys.
He simply wouldn’t be denied in Game 3. Even on faceoffs, his nasty disposition granted Florida subtle advantages:
Wrestle Henrique to the ice —> win the draw —> Tkachuk and Rodrigues briefly outnumber Walman below the dots —> net scramble.
Of course, we can’t discuss Bennett’s performance without highlighting that shift.
Although the 28-year-old is notorious for his accidentally-on-purpose shenanigans (watch his right skate in the faceoff clip above), when he does decide to sit on his punches, so to speak, he can deliver game-changing haymakers. Just ask Vasily Podkolzin (EDM 92):
Cutting through middle ice on entry, the Russian is more concerned with trailing options than the oncoming defender. Unfortunately, said defender is one of the most devastating—albeit spot-picking—hitters in the sport. He may not seize every opportunity to lay the body, but if he finds an unsuspecting victim on the trolley tracks, he’s doling out max damage.
He proceeds to obliterate Podkolzin, thump Klingberg for good measure and before the Oilers winger can regain his wits, he coughs the puck up to Eetu Luostarinen (FLA 27) at the OZ blue line. Bennett’s killer instinct and underrated straight-line speed take over, as he pulls away from the pack and gets Stuart Skinner (EDM 74) to bite on a backhand fake for a stick-side forehand finish. 4-1 on a playoff-leading 14th goal.
This 22-second, highlight-reel shift alone has likely inflated the pending UFA’s market price. GMs are salivating at the thought of adding what Tkachuk called “the definition of a playoff player,” and it’s…kind of hard to blame them.
He can run and gun, he can run you over and in Game 3, he helped the Panthers run the Oilers right out of the rink in a tidy 13:34 TOI.
On the night, he registered 1 goal, 6 hits and a ridiculous 93.8 xGF%.
Here are the full highlights: