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Sam Bennett escaped supplemental discipline for his hit on Anthony Stolarz, but could not keep avoiding the media. After last night's game, the Florida Panthers declined to make Bennett available for comment, but he finally faced the music on Tuesday morning. It makes sense, as the Panthers likely wanted to avoid him saying anything to incriminate himself before the NHL made the decision.
However, now that the NHL isn't going to look at the hit, Bennett is free to give his side of the story. Chris Johnston reported that Bennett has some sympathy for the incident.
“Sam Bennett says he reached out to Anthony Stolarz last night and he heard back,” Johnston posted on social media. “Says he was sorry to hear the Leafs goalie had to go to the hospital. ‘From my point of view, I'm just taking a puck to the net,' Bennett said.”
It seemed far-fetched to say Bennett tried to injure Stolarz on the play. The collision seemed harmless until Stolarz went down, and ex-NHLers were weighing in and saying that people had to put the incident into perspective.
Sam Bennett does cross the line, but not this time
Toronto Maple Leafs fans were understandably irate about the injury that put their starting goaltender in the hospital. It's easy to point the finger at Bennett, who has a history of borderline hits that injure players, but this instance wasn't one of them. It seems like Stolarz forgives Bennett, considering they talked over the phone on Monday night, and it might be time for Leafs fans to forgive as well.
It should be an intriguing matchup on Wednesday night when the teams drop the puck for Game 2. It'll likely be a chorus of boos everytime Bennett touches the puck, as is the norm in the NHL when a fanbase doesn't like an opposing player. Some expect retribution to be coming for the Panthers' winger, but the Maple Leafs want to move on from the incident and focus on winning the series.
