"10 game suspension if it was a leafs player": NHL fans react as Sam Bennett gets fined $5,000 for roughing Drew O'Connor

Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett was fined $5,000 for roughing Pittsburgh Penguins’ Drew O’Connor, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced on Saturday. Bennett had been given a two-minute penalty during the game on Friday night.

According to officials, the penalty was the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). However, that didn’t stop fans from sharing their view that the veteran forward got off easily. Most people commenting in reply to the NHL Department of Player Safety's announcement post on X believed that a double standard was being applied.

"@NHL and @nhlpa should issue audio statements of these fines followed by a 1950s TV-style laugh track," one fan posted.

"That’ll show him." A sarcastic user commented.

"embarrassing blatant favoritism," another said.

Some fans also labeled Bennett a habitual offender, claiming that this was not the only time he had gotten away lightly after rough play. They also brought up a similar incident in the playoffs last season, where the Florida center allegedly sucker-punched Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand. There was no penalty for Bennett and the NHL Department of Player Safety took no disciplinary action in that instance.

Bruins fans wasted no time in calling out Bennett and the NHL authorities after the latest incident.

"9 months late," someone posted on X.

"noticing a pattern. maybe the league should do something about this guy idk." Another pointed out.

"ok but nothing for the hit on marchand in the playoffs? oh i’m sure…" a fan said.

Panthers almost pay dearly for Sam Bennett penalty

The Florida Panthers, who were leading 2-1 towards the end of the game, suffered a scare as the penalty against Bennett in the dying minutes of the third period allowed Pittsburgh to score the equalizer.

The Penguins even pulled their goalie Tristan Jarry to make it a 6-on-4 game. Their aggressive move paid off and Richard Rakell scored the tying goal with 40 seconds left on the clock.

Florida’s 23-year-old goaltender Spencer Knight stepped up, making crucial saves in overtime to deny Pittsburgh the chance to turn it around. He also blanked Rakell and Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby in the shootout.

“He made a couple really big saves down at the end,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said via NHL.com about Knight.

For the Panthers, Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell managed to beat Jarry during the shootout to secure a 3-2 win. Gustav Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk scored for Florida during the game while Sidney Crosby scored a power-play goal in the second period and Rakell had the late equalizer.