Sam Bennett continues to make Stanley Cup playoffs history as his potential upcoming free agency looms.
With his first-period goal in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, a 5-2 Florida Panthers win against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday that moved them one win away from repeating as champions, Bennett now has 15 goals this postseason.
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That not only extends his league-leading mark for the playoffs, but it also makes him just the second in NHL history — and first since 1919 — to score 15 goals in a postseason after never recording a 30-goal regular season entering that playoff run.
The only other player to do so was Newsy Lalonde, with 17 goals in the 1919 playoffs.
But why stop there?
Bennett’s goal is also his 13th on the road this playoffs, extending his NHL single-postseason record. It’s also his sixth consecutive road game with a goal, dating back to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes. He is just fifth player in NHL history to register a six-game road goal streak in the Stanley Cup playoffs, joining Brian Propp (seven games in 1989), Mark Scheifele (six games in 2018), Kevin Stevens (six games in 1991) and Maurice Richard (six games in 1951).
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He is also one of just four active players to have scored 15 goals in a single postseason, joining Zach Hyman (16 in 2024), Alex Ovechkin (15 in 2018) and Sidney Crosby (15 in 2009).
It’s a monumental playoff run for Bennett, who is slated to become a free agent on July 1 unless the Panthers can coax him into signing an extension instead of testing the open market where he is projected to be offered upwards of $10 million-plus per year.
“Honestly, since the playoffs have started, it’s really just taken a back seat and I haven’t really thought too much about anything other than the playoffs and getting here and now the whole focus is on winning the Stanley Cup,” Bennett said ahead of the Cup Final. “Everything else is going to be in the background for the next couple weeks.”