Sam Bennett’s second goal of the game with 42 seconds left in overtime gave the Florida Panthers a 2-1 win over the Utah Hockey Club on Friday in Sunrise, Fla.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 13 saves for the Panthers (44-25-3, 91 points), who won their second straight.
Defenseman Sean Durzi scored for the Utah Hockey Club (32-29-12, 76 points), who lost their third straight. Karel Vejmelka stopped 30 shots.
Bennett got the winner on a backhand shot from the bottom of the left circle. It was Bennett’s 25th goal. Brad Marchand got the primary assist.
It was Marchand’s debut with Florida. The veteran winger was acquired from the Boston Bruins on March 7 for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2027 but had not been able to play for the Panthers because of an upper-body injury.
Durzi tied the game at 1, 1:55 into the third period. With the teams playing 4-on-4, he completed a 2-on-1 rush by scoring from the bottom of the right circle. It was Utah’s first goal in 158:09 of game time.
Bennett’s first goal, on the power play 2:28 into the second period, gave Florida a 1-0 lead. He slammed in a cross-crease pass from Aleksander Barkov. The goal came 18 seconds after Utah defenseman Ian Cole got a penalty for holding Bennett’s stick. Three minutes after setting up a goal, Barkov might have prevented a goal by the Utah Hockey Club when he blocked Jack McBain’s dangerous-looking shot from the slot right in front of Bobrovsky.
The Panthers had three more power plays later in the period but were unable to capitalize despite outshooting Utah 13-3 in the second.
The scoreless first period was tight checking with very little room or offense. There were only 11 shots on goal. Utah had six and Florida five.
Utah’s Kevin Stenlund helped the Panthers win the Stanley Cup last season. It was his first trip back to Sunrise this season after signing with the Utah Hockey Club as a free agent during the offseason.
