Panthers’ Sam Bennett Punished for Drew O’Connor Incident

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced Saturday that it had fined Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers $5,000 for roughing the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Drew O’Connor during Friday’s game.

The incident happened at 17:55 of the third period of the Penguins’ 3-2 shootout loss at Florida. Bennett received a roughing minor penalty at the time.

The $5,000 is the maximum fine allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

O’Connor had no points in the game after breaking a 32-game goal drought by scoring twice in the previous game, a 4-2 loss at Detroit.

Sam Bennett with a costly penalty that leads to Pens tying goal 😬

Pittsburgh commentators compare the play to Bennett’s punch on Marchand in the playoffs 😳 pic.twitter.com/AZsP0yeu4H

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 4, 2025