The most obvious is of course goals, of which he has 14 (in 20 games), the most of any player. The second leading scorer, Leon Draisaitl of Edmonton, is an abysmal four shots behind him. He has scored in all three games of the final series so far, even twice in the opening game.
His 14 goals in the playoffs, by the way, are a Panthers record. A full dozen of them in the arenas of the opponents, which is the historical maximum of the entire league, which is still held by Mark Scheifele from Winnipeg (11) since 2018. "We like playing there better," Bennett surprised before the start of the final. Adding further value to his goal account is the fact that he has scored 10 times in five-on-five play.
The native of Ontario, Canada, started in the NHL in Calgary, but it's safe to say he hasn't left a significant mark in less than seven seasons there (not to mention as a top-four pick). After moving to Florida, he became one of the team's mainstays. "I had a period in the Flames when I was struggling. Here, the team took me in completely differently, gave me a chance from the start," Bennett described the difference.
In all five years with the team, he has made the playoffs, now playing in his third consecutive finals. And each time it's true - the closer the season gets to its peak, the more it shows. He's averaging 0.49 points per game in the regular season, 0.73 in the playoffs and 0.80 in the Stanley Cup playoffs alone (12 points in 15 games).
However, Bennett is not a classic pointmaker, and body play has an equal place in his style. Not since the 2005-06 season, when the NHL keeps track of hits, has a player in the playoffs accumulated double-digit goals and over 100 collisions with an opponent. "He's like a load of dynamite," Calgary coach Bob Hartley once characterized him when he first came to preseason training camp at age 18.
He wanted an NHL contract so badly that he concealed the fact that he had an injured shoulder and made no indication whatsoever. However, he didn't fool the Flames doctors and had to have surgery. "When you have a shoulder broken in pieces and you bite yourself and you want to fight it, it says everything about your character. That's the kind of player we need in our organization," Hartley said in the rhetoric of a cool professional.
Without McDavid? Nothing
Bennett returned to the ice that same season. It is not for no reason that he is compared to late-century Toronto Maple Leafs star Doug Gilmour for his doggedness, who was, after all, his role model. He was loved by his dad, who was always banging his head, "Play like Dougie!" And as fate would have it, it was Gilmour who once drafted Bennett to play junior in the OHL in Kingston.
When his favourite number nine on the team was cast, he reached for number 93, the number his hockey forefather was famous for. He was nicknamed the Killer, which fits his successor as well. Both on offense and defense. He used to be a shorthanded specialist, but now he's more of an opponent's territory. He says he's confident enough to go in front of the net. Along with Corey Perry of the Oilers, he has scored the most goals on shots from the slot in this playoffs (both 8).
Probably his most defining moment is his hit in the third game of the final series. He skated into his own period to help win the puck. Then, like a rock, he took down Vasili Podkolzin with a hard hit, continued his drive and with another shot pinned John Klingberg to the boards, who also had to quickly get rid of the puck. Bennett tracked the puck until he poked it out at the boards, dumped it out, and when he saw that teammate Eetu Luostarinen had finally gotten it, he kicked the engines, out-skated everyone and suddenly raced to the net himself.
"That substitution was an accurate reflection of his play. He takes down two players and then by some mystery pulls off a break and scores a beautiful goal. He can do it all," teammate Brad Marchand praised. "He's been a beast throughout the playoffs. He was born for this part of the season," he added. The numbers back up his words. During the Panthers' three consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup finals, Bennett has netted 26 goals in the playoffs, the most on the team.
In Florida, he's been blown away, with compliments raining down on him from all sides of the booth. But only until word gets out that his contract is up after the season. If Florida doesn't extend him by then, he'll become an unrestricted free agent. That means that any NHL team can reach for him at that point.
And that this option is quite likely, as Panthers coach Paul Maurice tried to discourage any potential suitors with his peculiar humor. As if he had no other weapon. "Troubled kid. Plus, he's got the bubonic plague. Dengue fever. A whole bunch of things. And we have no idea if he can be cured," he joked.
When he was around 15 years old, Bennett shone in the jersey of the Toronto Marlboros' youth team on the wing of an attack led by a certain Connor McDavid. Observers at the time judged that he was merely benefiting from the creative skills of his friend, with whom he had grown up on the ice since the age of nine. The Florida forward, who is once again being dragged to the Stanley Cup, is now showing just how wrong they were...