TORONTO — Sam Bennett continues to prosper from his Four Nations Faceoff experience with Canada and the absence of stud Florida Panthers teammate Matthew Tkachuk.
Filling in for the injured Tkachuk on the power play, Bennett scored twice to lift the Stanley Cup champions to a 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
Tkachuk scored on the power play late in the first period and again in the second before 19,201 fans at Scotiabank Arena to give the Atlantic Division-leading Panthers (41-22-3) their seventh win in eight outings.
The second-place Maple Leafs (39-23-3) lost for the fourth time in five games, failing to defeat a Panthers team that also missing newcomer Brad Marchand (upper body) and Aaron Ekblad (suspension).
"We don't look the same without those guys, but we play the same way," Florida head coach Paul Maurice said.
"Matthew is irreplaceable on the power play, but Sam has stepped up pretty good."
Bennett is three weeks removed from helping Canada defeat Tkachuk and the United States in the Four Nations final.
The 28-year-old forward scored the tying 2-2 goal in Canada's 3-2 overtime win and has returned to the Panthers to score four times with nine points in nine games.
"You can learn a lot from a tournament like that with all the talent there, and seeing how hard everyone competes and takes care of themselves off the ice," Bennett said.
"All the little things that make the best players in the world, the best players in the world. I definitely was watching some guys pretty closely."
When asked if there was anybody in particular Bennett didn't hesitate to add, "Yeah, the two big dogs. Sid (Crosby) and Nate (MacKinnon)."
Bennett has 22 goals with 18 games remaining this season. He's just six shy of his career-high of 28.
Bennett hails from Holland Landing, a small community about 50 minutes north of Toronto. The Panthers forward still gets a kick out of returning home to play in front of friends and family.
"I always love playing here," he said. "Every time I play here, I get lots of support. It's special any time you can play in front of people who grew up with you and have been supporting me my entire career."
While the Panthers played without three of their best players, the Maple Leafs saw the return of Chris Tanev (upper body) after a six-game absence.
With the exception of injured Max Pacioretty, this was Toronto's playoff lineup.
The difference was special teams. The Maple Leafs went 0 for 3 on the power play, compared to Florida's 2-for-3 evening.
"I thought we did a lot of good things," said Toronto head coach Craig Berube said. "You always want to be better. "We have to push through this and get better. But we competed hard, and it was a hard game. It was a tough, tight hockey game out there. We had our power-play opportunities, and we didn't capitalize on them, and they did."
Defenceman Niko Mikkola scored the Panthers' other goal.
John Tavares, with his 27th, and Max Domi replied for Toronto.
Shots on goal were 25-25. Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz lost for the second time in two starts against his former club this season.
Tavares and Bennett traded first-period goals before Mikkola and Bennett scored in the second.
Domi caught the Panthers on a bad line change to pull the Maple Leafs within 3-2, 4:26 into the final period. But Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky shut down the home side the rest of the way.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2025.
Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press