Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi did not return for the third period against the Florida Panthers after taking a hit by Sam Bennett.

Florida wasted no time opening the scoring. On the power play, a severe defensive breakdown by the Predators left Sam Reinhart and Bennett alone in front of the Predators’ Juuse Saros (21 saves); Reinhart dropped the puck for Bennett to easily bury 1:23 into the contest.

On Wednesday, the Nashville Predators provided an injury update on Roman Josi as he deals with the effects of a hit from Florida's Sam Bennett.

Aleksander Barkov had two assists and Spencer Knight made 18 saves for the Panthers (35-21-3), who have won three of their past four. Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk missed his second consecutive game because of a lower-body injury.

Brad Marchand spoke clearly about his relationship with Sam Bennett on Team Canada after rivalry episodes in the NHL, during Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers games.

Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand is expected to play on a line with Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett for Team Canada's Feb. 15 contest against Team USA. This is undoubtedly notable, as Bennett memorably injured Marchand during last year's playoff with a sucker punch to the head.

Sam Bennett had a goal, assist and fight for a Gordie Howe hat trick, and Gustav Forsling and Mackie Samoskevich also scored to help the Panthers win for the third time in four games.

Nashville Predators' coach Andrew Brunette expressed frustration about Sam Bennett's hit that injured team captain Roman Josi.

That means out of the eight Florida Panthers players who were selected to participate in 4 Nations, three of them will play for a championship. They are Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart for the Canadiens and Matthew Tkachuk for Team USA. The Florida Sam’s ...