Sam Bennett of Holland Landing, Ontario notched his third career National Hockey League hat trick on Friday. The Florida Panthers center also notched an assist to tie a career high with four points in one game as the Panthers clobbered the Dallas Stars 7-1 from the BB&T Center from Sunrise, Florida.
Bennett scored the Panthers’ three final goals of the game. He scored his first goal from defenseman Brandon Montour of Brantford, Ontario, and Anton Lundell at 12:37 of the second period on the power play to put the Panthers up 5-0. Bennett then notched an unassisted marker with four minutes and 30 seconds left in the second period to put Florida up 6-0, and then made the score 7-1 with a goal from Anthony Duclair of Pointe-Claire, Quebec and Jonathan Huberdeau of Saint-Jerome, Quebec.
Bennett’s first career hat trick was with the Calgary Flames in a 6-0 win over the Panthers on January 13, 2016. Hew then scored thrice in a game on October 16, 2021 in a 5-1 Panthers win over the New York Islanders.
On Friday, Bennett had an assist on a goal by Gustav Forsling at 3:07 of the first period. This was also the third time in Bennett’s career he had four points in one game. In addition to the four goal game against the Panthers six years ago, Bennett had one goal and three assists for four points in a 6-1 Flames win over the Vancouver Canucks on December 17, 2017.
In 2021-22, Bennett has 14 goals and seven assists for 21 points in 28 games. He is also a +17 with 33 penalty minutes, five power-play points, four game-winning goals, one shorthanded point, 102 shots on goal, 188 faceoff wins, 11 blocked shots, 64 hits, 18 takeaways, and 20 giveaways.
The Panthers currently lead the Atlantic Division with 57 points. They have a record of 26 wins, seven regulation losses, and five losses in extra time.
