Conspiracy against arch-villain Sam Bennett? Florida Panthers commentators believe so

An NHL conspiracy against Florida Panthers arch-villain Sam Bennett? Some Panthers commentators believe so.

They are gobsmacked and frothing furious that the menacing Bennett was penalized with an interference call after he fell on top of Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner in Friday night’s Game 2. The Oilers scored on the subsequent power play to make the game 3-2, though Florida would ultimately win in overtime, 5-4.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Article content

At the time of the penalty a few neutral observers questioned the call, such as Boston’s Peter Blackburn of the What Chaos podcast. “I know it’s Sam Bennett and he doesn’t deserve much benefit of the doubt but I really don’t like that penalty call.”

And The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun: “For sure Ekholm pushes Bennett, but Bennett’s reputation around the crease is also something that refs around the league are aware of. Should that matter or not? Not sure it’s called a penalty if it’s not Bennett? Certainly a good debate to be had on it.”

The consensus out of Florida was that Bennett got a raw and possibly shady deal on the call, possibly related to Bennett injuring Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz in a controversial colission earlier in the playoffs.

Said Jacob Langsam of the Panther Pourri podcast: “We are seeing a whole lot of the ‘that was a terrible call, but Bennett hurt my feelings earlier in the playoffs’ barely dressed up and trotted out as legitimate analysis.”

Article content

Article content

And Jameson Olive, who reports on the Panthers for the Florida organization, noted dryly: “(Oilers d-man Mattias Ekholm pushes Bennett into Skinner. Skinner kicks out his right leg and trips Bennett. Penalty on Bennett.”

And host Armando Velez of the Locked On Panthers podcast: “Replay shows Matias Ekholm driving Sam Bennett into Stuart Skinner. But Sam Bennett goes to the box. Odd”

Velez blamed the call on Bennett running into Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz and giving the goalie a concussion. “If that collision on (Leafs goalie) Anthony Stolarz from round two doesn’t happen, do the referee’s even call that penalty on Bennett? Serious question. Sounds like they made the call based on the reaction and reputation more than what actually happened.”

Florida commentators have also alleged a conspiracy, with a number of pundits wondering why the call was only made after Skinner kept down on the ice as if he were seriously injured.

Article content

Said the same Jamison Olive on Territory Talk, the official podcast of the Florida Panthers: “The call was made after Skinner was down on the ice and showing that he was in pain. That’s when the call was made. There was no arm up in the moment… I think it’s an optics call. I think the arena kind of made that call. And I think it was the wrong call, but these things happen. And  I’m going to go full conspiracy theory here.”

It was an Oilers conspiracy at play, he suggested, one set in motion by Bennett falling into Stuart Skinner in Game 1 on a scoring play where Bennett went unpenalized and the goal was allowed to stand.

In Game 2, as soon as Bennett touched Skinner, Olive suggested that Skinner was thinking he should go down in order to draw a penalty. “Something about how that unfolded last night just almost felt like a set play to me, like kind of like a Venus flytrap, like luring him into the trap.”

Article content

The show’s host Doug Plagens agreed: “Goalies are aware of what’s going on around them… Goalies are going to find ways to bend the rules and work in their own favour in their team’s favour.

On the Panther Pourri podcast, commentator T.J. Peterson also questioned if Skinner was truly hurt on the play. “Who’s to say if he was legitimately injured or just milking it? If he was milking it. Honestly, props to him for getting his team a power play. I will never blame a player for flopping. I will blame the referees for missing it.”

Fellow commentator Alex Lopez also suggested Skinner took a dive. “The contact was so minimal and it was in their feet. If you look at it, Skinner is going down before any part of Bennett’s upper body makes contact with him. Like their feet get tangled up and Skinner just wildly goes down. Just like flailing everything. The definition of embellishment… That was the most obvious embellishment there has been in any series the Panthers have participated in.”

Article content

Lopez continued: “If you notice, the arm didn’t go up until well after the whistle blew. They were just like, ‘Oh, do we need to call something because Skinner is on the ice?’ Then they see it’s Sam Bennett, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s got to go to the box.’

“That’s a problem. You have a Stanley Cup game where calls are being made just because someone has been toeing the line all playoff long, all career long, whatever.”

TJ Peterson insisted that while some Panthers have made dirty plays, such as d-men Niko Mikkola and Aaron Ekblad, Bennett has not, including his contact on Stolarz.  “If you want to say something about Niko Mkkola or Aaron Eckblad, I will listen. If you want to say something about Sam Bennett, you’re talking out of your ass because you’re either sympathetic to the Maple Leafs or you’re rooting against the Panthers because you’re a Bruins fan or you’re just tired of seeing Canada lose for the 30th straight year in the Stanley Cup Finals. Either way, you’re full of s*it and you’re just putting your subjective opinion where it doesn’t belong.”

Article content

“It’s the Panthers are the villain of the NHL…,” Lopez said. “They are not a likeable team unless you are a Florida Panthers fan.”

Host Jacob Langsam speculated that the Oilers had cooked up Skinner flopping if Bennett came near. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if (Oilers coach) Kris Knobloch, knowing the kind of coach he is, and again, phenomenal coach, does a great job helping his team get the best chance to win every night. And part of that is probably, ‘Hey, if Bennett’s in your crease, try.’ And maybe he did.”

Article content

My take

1. I have no idea if Bennett or Skinner intentionally flopped. I can’t read their minds so I won’t try.

I do know that Bennet has a history of bumping into goalies and that the NHL rightly frowns on that kind of play I also suspect that referees are on the lookout for certain players pulling certain iffy or dirty tricks that they’ve pulled in the past.

The penalty call on Bennett in this case was reasonable, in part, because while Ekholm pushed Bennett one way, but he appeared to seek out contact with Skinner, and his fall took him in the opposite direction of Ekholm’s push. It was awfully convenient for him to land on Skinner in the goalie’s crease. Bennett appeared to made little or no effort to avoid the Oilers goalie.

2. Do I think this was a make-up call on Bennett? Possibly, but the make-up was most likely from earlier in the Game 2  when the two referees failed to call Bennett on an obvious interference call after Ekholm dropped his stick blocked a shot. Bennett then proceeded to kick Ekholm’s stick out of the player’s reach.

Article content

How that call was missed, I don’t know?

As Sportsnet commentator Craig Simpson said at the time, “The Oilers bench is irate at that as you can’t purposefully shove a player’s stick away from him.”

It was a flagrant violation of the rules, made all the worse because Bennett scored a moment later due to Ekholm having no stick to block the pass to him. If the referees felt shame for this non-call, they well should have. If they were not inclined to cut Bennett any more slack on any other call in the same game that makes sense.

Article content

As for the interference penalty on Bennett that was called, here is how other, non-Florida commentators saw it:

Scouting The Refs @ScoutingTheRefs
Sneaky play by Bennett. There’s a shove by Ekholm, sure, but Bennett absolutely steers himself into the goaltender. You can watch his right skate as he turns to ensure that instead of going across the top of the crease he goes right into the goalie. Learned well from Game 1, eh?

The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn 📈 @domluszczyszyn
Oh gee Sam Bennett “accidentally” murdered another goalie? that’s crazy. i wonder if there will be literally any consequences this time.

Article content

VGK hockey wriiter Jesse Granger: “Again, Sam Bennett intentionally falls back into the goalie. He isn’t pushed. He isn’t tripped. The guy who is typically strong as an ox in front of the net, impossible to move, flails backwards from well inside the blue paint.”

And Edmonton sports radio host   Dustin Nielson: “Something needs to be done about Sam Bennett, I’ll leave that to your interpretation.”

And Edmonton sports blogger Jackie Bondurant: “I am absolutely baffled at how many ‘unintentional’ and ‘accidental’ things Bennett gets away with. At some point, y’all need to recognize that it’s not a  coincidence anymore.

Eye for an eye in the Stanley Cup Final: Sam Bennett tried to break Stuart Skinner’s ankles, so Connor McDavid actually did break Aaron Ekblad’s.

And Toronto radio producer  Drew Livingstone: “Sam Bennett accidentally hits and injures another goalie! WHAT ARE THE ODDS!”

Article content

And Sports Illustrated’s Iain MacMillan: “How many times can Sam Bennett do that without him getting suspended? He’s deliberately attacked the opponent’s goalie in EVERY series in these playoffs. Disgusting. No place in the game for that horse sh*t.”

And Spittin Chiclets podcaster  Ryan Whitney: “People who don’t think that’s a penalty on Bennett are so dumb. It’s the same guy every single time. He’s just mastered making it look like an accident every single time.”

Article content

And Toronto hockey commentator Steve Dangle: “Stuart Skinner was hurt. Stuart Skinner luckily stayed in the game and played pretty well. But that doesn’t change the fact that Sam Bennett tried to hurt Stuart Skinner. I would suggest that Sam Bennett knew he was trying to injure Stuart Skinner. And I’m also going to suggest that the Florida Panthers plan was to try to injure Stuart Skinner. The evidence I’m going to present to you is when Sam Bennett was already in the box, Matthew Tkachuk followed him to the box because he was also given a roughing penalty for his little exchange with Trent Frederic. Tkachuk pats him on the chest like Bennett just did a great thing. Scored a goal, got an assist, laid a great hit? No, no, he didn’t do any of those things. He put his team short-handed and the reason he put his team short-handed is he tried to injure the Oilers starting goalie.”

And Vancouver hockey commentator Thomas Drance: “For Sam Bennett bending the rules at the margins is like breathing is for you or I. And you’ve got to respect it. Absolute dog…Eye for an eye in the Stanley Cup Final: Sam Bennett tried to break Stuart Skinner’s ankles, so Connor McDavid actually did break Aaron Ekblad’s.”

Article content

Article content