Florida Panthers Get Good News on Sam Bennett

FORT LAUDERDALE — Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the team got good news Wednesday when it came to the status of center Sam Bennett.

Maurice said he expects Bennett to miss at least a week after he was struck by a Brandon Montour slap shot during the second period of Tuesday night’s 3-2 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Bennett will not make the trip to Tampa for the following two games.

Maurice said Anton Lundell will take Bennett’s spot on the second line.

“It’s better than we originally thought, but it’s going to be a week, anyway,’’ Maurice said on Wednesday. “We’ll see how it falls in the schedule.’’

Bennett missed a big chunk of the start of the season, Maurice saying now that may have been a blessing in disguise.

“The silver lining of injuries is what we ran during the first 13 games of the year,’’ he said. “We played playoff games with Bennett out, Barkov out. So we know what the lines can look like. There’s nothing new that’s going to happen. We want to stay healthy, but every team is going to have to deal with this.’’

This is a breaking news story and will be updated

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STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (WC1) VS. FLORIDA PANTHERS (ATL1)

PANTHERS LEAD BEST-OF-7 SERIES 2-0

GAME 3

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa 
• Local TV/National TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida/TBS/HBOMax
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL app
• First Round (Panthers Lead 1-0) — Game 1: Panthers 3, Lightning 2; Game 2: Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2 OT; Game 3: Thursday at Tampa Bay, 7 (BSF, TBS); Game 4: Saturday at Tampa Bay, 5 (BSF, TBS, TruTV); Game 5*: Monday at Florida, TBA (BSF, TBA); Game 6*: Wednesday May 1 at Tampa Bay, TBA (BSF, TBA); Game 7*: Saturday May 4 at Florida, TBA (BSF, TBA). (*) — If necessary
• 2023-24 Regular Season Series (Panthers Won 2-1) — At Tampa Bay: Panthers 3, Lightning 2 (Dec. 27); Panthers 9, Lightning 2 (Feb. 17). At Florida: Lightning 5, Panthers 3 (March 16).
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 77-51-19, 10 ties
• All-Time Postgame Series: Lightning Leads 2-0 (2021 first-round, 2022 ECS)