Bennett Notches Hat Trick, Florida Easily Tops Islanders 5-1

SUNRISE (AP) — The lone chapeau instrumentality of Sam Bennett’s vocation earlier Saturday wasn’t precisely enjoyed by the Florida Panthers, since it happened against them astir six years ago.

They liked this 1 acold more.

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Bennett scored 3 times, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots and the Florida Panthers topped the New York Islanders 5-1 connected Saturday nighttime for their 2nd triumph successful arsenic galore games this season.

“It’s bully to person a bully start,” Bobrovsky said.

Jonathan Huberdeau got the 500th constituent of his vocation for Florida, portion Anthony Duclair and Aleksander Barkov added goals for the Panthers.

“A large squad win,” Huberdeau said.

Oliver Wahlstrom scored for the Islanders, his power-play extremity 3:30 into the 3rd getting New York wrong 3-1.

But Bennett got his 3rd of the nighttime midway done the last period, past Barkov made it 5-1 with his archetypal of the season.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 24 shots for the Islanders, who person been outscored 11-4 this play and failed to get a constituent retired of their archetypal 2 games for lone the 2nd clip successful the past 15 years. It besides happened successful 2016-17.

“It’s a small concerning, but to me, I conscionable look astatine the crippled from an wide view,” Islanders manager Barry Trotz said. “I thought we were truly bully successful the archetypal 2 periods … but erstwhile we’re breaking down, we’re truly breaking down.”

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Florida is disconnected to a 2-0-0 commencement for conscionable the seventh clip successful the franchise’s 28 seasons, and Bobrovsky was successful nett for both.

“Bob was great,” Panthers manager Joel Quenneville said. “As the crippled wore on, I thought we had immoderate bully possession time, bully velocity to our crippled and immoderate bully plays arsenic well.”

Bennett’s different chapeau instrumentality was really a four-goal crippled — against Florida, for Calgary connected Jan. 13, 2016. It was the 55th chapeau instrumentality successful Florida history, with 32 Panthers present having astatine slightest one.

The Panthers person 3 antithetic players with astatine slightest a two-goal crippled already this season. That’s ne'er happened earlier successful squad history; determination had been 2 antithetic two-goal scorers successful the archetypal 2 games of a play connected 4 different occasions.

“It’s awesome to spot a clump of antithetic guys getting connected the scoreboard and uncovering that assurance aboriginal successful the year,” Bennett said. “I deliberation that’s large for immoderate player. We’re conscionable going to support it rolling.”

Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad had the two-goal contests successful Thursday’s opener. Bennett joined them Saturday, getting his archetypal erstwhile the puck bounced done the crease onto his stick, and helium tapped it into wide-open netting for a 1-0 pb successful the archetypal period.

The 2nd 1 took a small much effort; helium scored connected a wraparound connected the play wherever Huberdeau had an assistance for his milestone point.

Duclair got his 2nd of the play connected a breakaway precocious successful the second, and Bennett’s 3rd of the nighttime came connected a changeable from the slot that bounced disconnected Sorokin.

“Once they got the 4th goal, we stopped playing,” Trotz said. “They smelled humor and they kept coming astatine us.”

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