NOTEBOOK: Bennett back at practice with the Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. – A familiar fuzzy face was back on the ice this morning in Sunrise.

Sidelined ever since he suffered a lower-body injury during a preseason matchup against Tampa Bay on Oct. 5, hard-nosed forward Sam Bennett rejoined the Panthers for practice on Thursday.

“It feels great,” Bennett said after hitting the ice with his teammates at Amerant Bank Arena. “Obviously when you’re out for a while, just skating with the injured guys, you really miss being out there and practicing with the guys. It felt great to be around them again.”

Per the Miami Herlad’s Jordan McPherson, Bennett was spotted back in his usual spot on the second line in between Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk. Last season, that combination was dominant. Over 317:55 of ice time together, they outscored the opposition 23-12 at 5-on-5.

In 63 games last season, the 27-year-old logged 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) and 150 hits.

“It’s exciting,” Bennett said. “I feel like it’s back at the beginning of the season again. I was skating hard with the injured guys there and now it’s just ramping it up getting ready to go.”

As for when Bennett will return to the lineup, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said that “we’ll see how he comes in tomorrow” before making any decision on the center’s immediate future.

Florida's next game comes at home against the Kraken on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

“Everything’s going to according to the plan,” Bennett said of his rehab. “Just starting to ramp it up and I’m definitely feeling good and feeling a lot better. Hopefully I can get in here soon.”

BARKOV MISSES PRACTICE

Aleksander Barkov (illness) was absent from this morning’s practice.

After missing Tuesday’s 3-1 win over San Jose due to the bug – which has been making its way around the team’s locker room – the captain could return to practice as early as Friday.

“Feeling better,” Maurice said of Barkov. “We’re hopeful he’s back on the ice tomorrow.”

Producing at better than a point-per-game clip in the early goings of this season, Barkov has tallied six points (one goal, five assists) in five games while also winning 50% of his faceoffs.

Dmitry Kulikov also sat out practice and, like Barkov, is “under the weather,” per Maurice.

GADJOVICH SKATES

In addition to Bennett, Jonah Gadjovich also participated in his first practice of the regular season.

Still recovering from an upper-body injury that dates back to last season, the 25-year-old forward is still “a ways away” from getting into a game, according to Maurice, but took a big step today.

Inked to a one-year, one-way contract on Oct. 16, Gadjovich appeared in 35 games with the Sharks in 2022-23, recording seven points (three goals, four assists) and racking up 92 hits.

“He finishes every check,” Maurice said. “He’s very detailed in his game.”

Gadjovich was initially expected to be cleared to return at some point in November.