Watch: Panthers’ Sam Bennett Runs Over Bruins Goalies Amid Chaos
The Boston Bruins took a couple of losses on their season opener against the reining champions Florida Panthers on Tuesday. First and foremost, the Bruins dropped their debut losing 6-4 to their opponents. On top of that, they saw their makeshift starter in net, Joonas Korpisalo, get run over by Panthers forward Sam Bennett.
Bennett’s collision with Korpisalo sparked a melee on the ice featuring many low-violence fights between players of the Bruins and the Panthers with the game already decided midway through the third period. The collision occurred just moments after Evan Rodrigues scored Florida’s sixth goal of the night, adding insult to injury for the Bruins, who went down 6-2 following that goal.
Bennett had already scored twice in the game and barreled into Korpisalo hitting him on a head-first dive and sending the goaltender crashing to the ice.
Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei was quick to chase Bennett and retaliate, throwing punches at the Panthers forward while still lying on the ice. That went on as a scrum broke out between the two teams right behind the Bruins net. Bennett was penalized with a two-minute roughing minor while Korpisalo emerged unscathed and avoided any injury, not before being checked by the Bruins’ medical staff. “I was just trying to focus on the puck and I didn’t really see what happened,” Korpisalo said after the game, via NESN. “I don’t think anyone wants to run over the goalie on purpose, so I don’t know what happened.”
Bennett’s action followed many other altercations happening earlier in the season opener for both teams.
In the first period, Bruins forward Trent Frederic attempted to engage Matthew Tkachuk in a fight, only to find himself penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct when Tkachuk declined to drop the gloves. Later in the game, Bruins newcomer Mark Kastelic and former Bruin A.J. Greer traded punches, further setting the tone for the third-quarter scrum.
