All’s well that ends well, it is often said. This might be very true in the game between the Panthers and the Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yesterday, the two teams battled hard in the opening game of Round 2, but it was the Maple Leafs who triumphed. However, a controversial moment caught the eyes of the hockey world after Sam Bennett’s elbow hit the Maple Leafs’ goaltender, Anthony Stolarz, on the head, throwing him on the ice. Hours after that incident, Bennett finally broke his silence on the matter.

During his post-game interview, Bennett denied any intentional aggression on his part. “From my point of view, I’m just taking a puck to the net,” Bennett said, when asked about his elbow hit on Stolarz’s head. Additionally, Bennett also revealed that he reached out to Stolarz and felt sorry about the fact that he had to visit the hospital to get checked out following the incident. After reaching out to Stolarz, Bennett “heard back” from him, which goes to show that all’s well between the two.

Even as Bennett escaped any penalty during the game, the Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube questioned how he got away with it, saying, “Elbow to the head. Clearly. Clear as day. I’m not sure why there wasn’t a call on it, but it was clearly a penalty.” However, the Panthers’ coach, Paul Maurice, disagreed with Berube and cited, “The referee is standing right there when it happens. The league will do its thing [in reviewing the play]. And I will coach the next game. Hopefully.”

Meanwhile, Bennett inflicted a third head injury on an opposition player in the last three playoffs, with the other two players being Brad Marchand and Matthew Knies. On this occasion, Bennett escaped any supplemental penalty for his actions. However, the NHL world was left divided on this matter.

Fellow players comment about Sam Bennett’s elbow on Anthony Stolarz

The Maple Leafs goaltender left the game after being hit on the head by Bennett’s elbow. Subsequently, he also vomited on the bench, following which he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. While some players felt that stricter rules are needed to ensure players’ safety, some felt that the right decision had been made not to hand Bennett any penalty.

Winger Matthew Knies said, “Hopefully the league will handle it and protect our players.” Back in 2023, Knies suffered from a concussion after being hit by Bennett in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Panthers’ captain, Aleksander Barkov was glad to see Stolarz doing fine after the hit. He revealed, “Obviously we know him really well. He’s played really well the whole year and [I’m] happy for him. So hopefully he’s OK, but we’re concentrating on our game.”

With the incident done and dusted and Bennett escaping any further sanctions, the focus shifts onto Game 2. The Panthers would look to come back strongly after narrowly losing the first game 4-5. It’ll be interesting to see how the likes of Stolarz and Barkov emerge stronger from a difficult first game.