Sam Bennett, What Are You Doing?

Sam Bennett skating for the Florida Panthers
Photo: NHL.com

The NHL playoffs are full of shenanigans and dirty plays, but Sam Bennett has done it again. In the four games that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers have played so far, Sam Bennett has done two questionable things. The first was his play on Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Matthew Knies which resulted in a concussion. The second questionable thing? Punching Toronto Maple Leafs defensemen Jake McCabe when he could not defend himself when he was on the ice. To make the situation a bit more uneasy for fans, McCabe had a referee on top of him while he was being punched in the face repeatedly by Bennett.

These playoffs have replicated a consistent theme of the refs putting their whistles away and saying, “Let the boys figure it out.” Once chaos ensues, the refs start acting as if they’ve been strict about it all throughout the entire playoffs.

Related Story: Sam Bennett Must Be Suspended For His Dirty Play On Matthew Knies

I should also mention that the playoffs are not called nearly as strict, and the players are fully aware of this. The players know what’s on the line and play more aggressively than they would if it were a quarter of the way through the regular season.

At the end of a close game, temperatures rose beyond the referee’s control. A hit on Leaf’s defensemen Morgan Reilly by Panthers defensemen Brandon Montour would cause all of the chaos to ensue. Leafs forward Mitch Marner and Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, former teammates on the 2016 Memorial Cup Winning London Knights, would have a bit of a shoving match with each other.

However, to add to the pile of stuff that should’ve been disciplined in this series, Sam Bennett would take liberties on the downed and defenseless Jake McCabe.

Game five of this series is on Friday, May 12th, back in Toronto, and it should be an interesting game.

2-0? In THIS Economy? Leafs Late Night

WELCOME BACK TO LEAFS LATE NIGHT! Presented by Inside The RinkRoscoe / Biehner – Shots vs Results- Knock On Wood- Domi's Legacy- Roscoe Rant- Stolarz vs GriegNEW MERCH IS AVAILABLE!JOIN OUR DISCORD!Remember to follow us on Twitter @LeafsLateNight & IG @LeafsLateNightCheck out Mike, Josh, and Nathan's articles on the Leafs + many more! insidetherink.comHow to support us and our sponsors:TicketmasterColumbia Sports ApparelESPN+ SubscriptionFanaticsDraft Kings – CODE ITR
  1. 2-0? In THIS Economy?
  2. The Battle of Ontario: Remastered Edition
  3. Saint Joseph Woll
  4. Vanquishing Rivals of Yesteryear
  5. Lawesome-Tawesome

Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Conrad Jack

Conrad Jack is a Manitoba based sportswriter covering the Winnipeg Jets (NHL) and the Manitoba Moose (AHL). He also covers the NHL Draft and World Junior Championship for ITR. He writes the Bargain Bin blog which covers NHL News & Rumours.

Leave a Reply

Steve Yzerman, General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings

Yzerman: This Red Wings Team ‘Can Take a Step’

The Detroit Red Wings currently have $12.09 million in salary cap space after the team acquired goaltender John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks and acquired free agent left-winger James van Riemsdyk recently. According to general manager Steve Yzerman, the team will likely stand pat right now despite having this amount of cap space. The fact […]

Read More
Tanner Jeannot of the Los Angeles Kings

Player Profile: Tanner Jeannot

Tanner Jeannot was born on May 29, 1997, in Estevan, Saskatchewan. The left-shooting forward played for three seasons with the Estevan Bruins from 2010-13. In his first two seasons with the U15 club, Jeannot scored 29 goals and collected 18 assists in 42 games and five goals and three assists in ten postseason games. Jeannot […]

Read More
Gage Goncalves of the Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning Make Significant Player Signings To Start July

As free agency has started in the National Hockey League, many teams, including the Tampa Bay Lightning, are making significant roster moves with free agents and player extensions. Just yesterday, July 1, for day one of free agency, the Lightning extended young 24-year-old Portuguese forward Gage Goncalves to a two-year contract worth $1.2 million a […]

Read More