Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett, fresh off a memorable 4 Nations Face-Off where he starred for Canada, authored a rare "Gordie Howe hat trick," with a goal, an assist and a fight, in his team's 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.
Check out FloridaPanthers.com/4Nations for final recaps of the Cats at the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off. The Panthers will next face off against the Seattle Kraken at 6 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Feb. 22 at Amerant Bank Arena, beginning the final stretch of the regular season.
Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi did not return for the third period against the Florida Panthers after taking a hit by Sam Bennett.
Florida wasted no time opening the scoring. On the power play, a severe defensive breakdown by the Predators left Sam Reinhart and Bennett alone in front of the Predators’ Juuse Saros (21 saves); Reinhart dropped the puck for Bennett to easily bury 1:23 into the contest.
Justin Sourdif, playing in just his fourth NHL game after being called up from AHL Charlotte on Monday, made a nice move to cut into Nashville’s zone and after a quick give-and-go with Jesper Boqvist, deflected a pass over Juuse Saros’ glove for his first NHL goal.
Everybody gets their depth tested over the course of the year. Usually, if you’ve handled it right, you find out some really good things.’
Forward Steven Stamkos, who signed a four-year deal with Nashville in the offseason, is currently in the longest point-less streak of his career — he has gone nine games without a point for the first time in his 17-year career.
With Tkachuk placed on long-term injured reserve, he'll miss at least 10 games and 24 days of the season. Although he's eligible to return before the end of March, NHL insider Chris Johnston says there seems to be a "distinct possibility" the injury could hold him out for the rest of the regular season.
The Florida Panthers added defense to bolster their repeat of a Stanley Cup win. Now the question with Matthew Tkachuk put on injured reserve is whether they have another move coming.