Bennett return makes Panthers deeper against Bruins in East 1st Round

BOSTON -- Paul Maurice and the Florida Panthers haven't been shy about discussing the depth the Boston Bruins bring to their Eastern Conference First Round series.

What was notable for the Panthers during their 6-3 win against the Bruins in Game 2 at TD Garden on Wednesday to even the best-of-7 series was that their own depth got stronger, in the form of Sam Bennett.
"Boston is the deepest team in the League," Maurice said. "You've got a Hart Trophy winner (Taylor Hall, 2017-18) on the third]*
Bennett again will be in the mix. But the Bruins have their own missing center issue, having played the first two games of the series without captain Patrice Bergeron (upper body), who centers the top line.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Thursday he did not know if Bergeron would travel with the team to Florida.
Bennett, who had been out since sustaining a groin injury during a game against the Detroit Red Wings on March 20, made an immediate impact, opening the scoring for the Panthers at 1:42 of the first period.
"The interesting thing about Sam Bennett, because somebody asked me [about him] earlier, talked about his point production is down a bit," Maurice said. "But Matthew Tkachuk's had a career year. [Eetu] Luostarinen has had a career year. [Carter] Verhaeghe's had a career year.
"And all three of those guys have played with Sam Bennett for the better part of the year. And that's his strength. He drives the play. He plays so damn hard and drives the play."

Bennett had 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 63 regular-season games. It was nine points fewer than he had last season when he had an NHL-best 49 points (28 goals, 21 assists) in 71 games for the Panthers.
But Maurice has not been concerned about Bennett's statistics and he wasn't Wednesday.
"What do they always say about great players? They make the players around them better," Maurice said. "So Sam has been so important to us this year. Even like in a heart-and-soul way."
Maurice pointed out that after Bennett was injured, the Panthers lost their next four games.
"[Bennett] has been fantastic for us," he said.
It's significant that the Panthers got Bennett back, significant that their team is stronger down the middle. Significant that Bennett was able to contribute immediately.
"Everyone expected that," defenseman Brandon Montour said. "He's a dangerous player. Especially in the playoffs. He plays the right way, he plays hard. It's great to see him back."
In addition to the goal, Bennett was on the ice in the third when Verhaeghe scored what would become the game-winning goal, at 7:00 of the third period, to give the Panthers a 4-2 lead. Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy had the puck along the boards in the Boston end when Bennett hit him. That forced a turnover and Tkachuk passed the puck to Verhaeghe coming through the left face-off circle for the goal.
"We've got a little bit of everything on that line," Bennett said. "[Verhaeghe] plays with all that speed and then [Tkachuk] is one of the best in the League at controlling pucks down low and in front of the net. So it's really easy to work with two guys with different skill sets. But they're unbelievable at what they do. It's a lot of fun playing with them."
And it makes a world of difference for a team trying to overcome the odds and take control of a series against a team that was coming in with the best record in the NHL this season.
"It felt great," Bennett said. "It's always tough when you're out for a while and it was tough watching Game 1 from the press box, but definitely felt great to get back in there."
The Panthers felt great about it too.