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Sam Reinhart’s four goals led the way to the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup again over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night, but it was a different Sam who took home the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Sam Bennett was named the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced his name following the 5-1 Game 6 win over the Oilers to seal another league title.
Though he didn’t have a point in Game 6, Bennett was the leading goalscorer of any player in the playoffs this year, finding the back of the net 15 times, while adding seven assists for a total of 22 points.
Bennett joined some elite Stanley Cup Playoffs company, as the only other players to have at least 15 goals in the postseason before him were Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Joe Sakic and Sidney Crosby – all hockey legends.
To begin the Stanley Cup Final, a rematch with the Oilers after defeating them in seven games last season, Bennett found the back of the net twice despite the overtime loss.
He followed that up with a goal in Game 2’s victory as well as the Game 3 win to help Florida take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Bennett’s final goal of the season came in Game 5’s win on Saturday night in Edmonton.
The Panthers, a team filled with talent from top to bottom, added players like Brad Marchand and Seth Jones at the NHL trade deadline to fortify their roster. Both of those players made tremendous contributions throughout the playoffs to help Florida reach their goal once more.
But the main core, which includes Bennett, Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and more, led the way both in the locker room and by example.
Bennett finished the regular season with 51 points (25 goals, 26 assists) over 76 games, but he turned it up a notch when his team needed it most in the playoffs.
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