No discipline for Panthers Sam Bennett after hit on Toronto’s Anthony Stolarz

Sam Bennett’s hit on former teammate Anthony Stolarz was the talk of the NHL on Tuesday.

However, Bennett will not be receiving any discipline for the moment.

Bennett was near the net and bumped into Stolarz, who had been hit by a slapshot earlier in the game.

Eventually, Stolarz would leave the game and was taken to a nearby hospital. He has since been released.

Bennett said Tuesday, “Obviously, I heard that he went to the hospital last night. Stolie is a good friend of mine. I reached out to him, he responded. Obviously, never want to see an injury like that. From my point of view, I’m just taking a puck to the net. I didn’t know we made contact until after. I’m on the power play, I’m trying to score. That’s really all there was to it.”

Bennett added, “I play a hard style of hockey and people get upset by things and worked up but I try to just tune that out. I’m just trying to play my game and help my team win. I’m trying to push that noise away.”

Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said, “He’s got the puck, he’s on the power play, he goes to the net. I understand…call the fire department, put your hair out. Let’s move on, please.”