This Soul Shattering Sam Bennett Hit Is The Definition Of Playoff Hockey
As with any blog about a massive hit like this, I just want to start off by saying you never want to see someone get hurt. Always tough to watch a guy get injured to the point where he seemingly has no idea where he's at. But with that being said...
Hockey is a fast sport. Hockey is an intense sport. Hockey is a violent sport. And when you get to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, all of those things get ramped up a few notches. And with that being the case, some guys are just going to get fucked up. Plain and simple, no two ways around it.
If you want to win in the playoffs then you need big time goal scorers, you need a big time goalie, but you also need some big time bullies who are going to make your opponent question whether or not they even wanted to make it to the playoffs in the first place.
Sam Bennett is that bully. Guy has been racking up a laundry list of victims all playoffs long.
But let's not get it twisted. Playoff hockey isn't just running around like a deranged lunatic trying to cave some faces in. You want to physically annihilate your opponent, but in a way that shatters their will to live. Not in a way that allows them to rally around the opposing captain getting tossed from the game because he's a fucking psychopath. Sam Bennett plays playoff hockey. Jamie Benn plays like a petulant child.
If you can't see the difference from the hits themselves, then just look at how the series went for both teams. The results should speak for themselves.
Either way, Sam Bennett is a dawg. Such an unreal pickup from Bill Zito. Guy traded away a 2nd round pick and some kid who spent most of this past season playing in the Swedish league for Sam Bennett, who is easily one of the most important pieces of this Panthers roster right now. Maybe it took Keith Tkachuk to call the Cats a bunch of soft little bitches, but Sam Bennett clearly heard the message and decided to become an absolute menace out there.