Panthers’ Sam Bennett makes ‘grinder’ admission on win over Jets

The Florida Panthers opened a three-game road trip with a gritty 2-1 shootout victory versus the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday at Canada Life Centre. The win improved Florida’s record to 26-20-3, while Winnipeg fell to 20-23-7.

The game unfolded as a defensive battle from the opening faceoff. The first period ended scoreless, as both teams combined for only 11 shots, with the Panthers outshooting the Jets 6-5.

That trend continued into the second period. Florida allowed only one high-danger chance in the frame, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. Winnipeg earned the only power play of the period but failed to put a puck on net, as the Panthers’ penalty kill kept the Jets to the perimeter. Shots after two periods favored Florida 13-10.

Florida finally broke through late in the second. At 18:49, Sam Bennett scored his 18th goal of the season, converting a one-timer from the left circle after a pass from Matthew Tkachuk. The play began with an offensive-zone faceoff win, and the goal came on the Panthers 13th shot of the game.

“It was just a grinder the whole way,” said Bennett, who led all Florida forwards with 21:42 of ice time. “Not a ton of chances either way, but we stuck with it.”

The assist was Tkachuk’s first point of the season, coming in just his second game after missing the first 47 games following adductor muscle surgery and sports hernia repair in August.

Winnipeg responded in the third period. At 5:24, with teams skating four-on-four, Cole Perfetti tied the game 1-1. Jonathan Toews forced a turnover by Uvis Balinskis and fed Perfetti, driving toward the net, where the Jets forward finished with a backhand past Daniil Tarasov. It proved to be the only goal of the period.

Neither team scored in overtime despite a number of scoring opportunities. Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey hit the crossbar, while Connor Hellebuyck made important saves to keep the game alive. The contest was decided in the shootout, where Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart both scored for the Panthers. Tarasov stopped attempts by Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, finishing the night with 17 saves in regulation and two more in the tiebreaker. Meanwhile, Hellebuyck stopped 19 shots overall.

Florida’s defensive discipline showed in the shot totals, with the Panthers allowing no more than seven shots in any period. The win pushed Florida to 4-2-0 over its last six games and improved its record in one-goal games this season to 14-0-3. The Panthers will continue their road trip Saturday night against the Minnesota Wild.

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