A GORDIE HOWE HAT TRICK

Sam Bennett had the 17th “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” — a goal, an assist and a fight — in team history and the first since Matthew Tkachuk in 2022 as the Panthers defeated the Nashville Predators on the road, 4-1. Bennett scored a power play goal in the first period, engaged in a fight with Cole Smith in the third period then assisted on Mackie Samoskevich’s late goal to complete the trick. “Sometimes you have to take a punch,” Bennett said later in the season. “That’s part of the game. At the same time, you have to stand up for your guys.”