GOOD NEWS: Florida Panthers’ Top profile player Returns.

FLORIDA PANTHERS An update on Sam Bennett. And Spencer Knight is back with Florida Panthers Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett

(9) and Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel (38) look for the puck during the second period of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 on Sunday, April 21, 2024, at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. The score was 1-1 at the end of the second period.

Some positive news on the Sam Bennett front for the Florida Panthers. Coach Paul Maurice said the team’s second-line center skated on his own before the team’s full practice on Friday at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale. Bennett hasn’t played since Game 2 of the Panthers’ opening-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning due to a hand/wrist injury sustained after blocking a shot.

While Bennett’s status for the team’s series opener for Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday against either the Boston Bruins or Toronto Maple Leafs is still up in the air, Maurice previously said “it’s a very real possibility” Bennett returns at some point in Round 2. In the meantime, it appears Florida’s forward lines will remain the same as they were at the end of the Panthers’ series-clinching win on Monday.

That includes Aleksander Barkov centering Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk, Anton Lundell centering Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart, Kevin Stenlund centering Evan Rodrigues and Vladimir Tarasenko and Steven Lorentz centering Nick Cousins and Kyle Okposo.

SPENCER KNIGHT RETURNS The Panthers on Thursday recalled goaltender Spencer Knight to the active roster after the 23-year-old spent the entire season with the Charlotte Checkers, Florida’s American Hockey League affiliate.

Knight left the team last season when he entered the NHL and NHL Players Association’s joint player assistance program for what he later revealed to be due to an ongoing case with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Knight was not made available to the media on Friday but told CharlotteCheckers.com that it “was refreshing just to be able to play” again. “To me, that was honestly the highlight — just playing,” Knight said.

“That’s the one thing I didn’t take for granted this year, being able to be on the ice and play. It was fun. It was great.” Knight played in 45 games with the Checkers, going 25-14-5 with a .905 save percentage and a 2.41 goals against average.

He started two games in the playoffs, going 1-1 with a .925 save percentage and a 1.87 goals-against average before Charlotte dropped its best-of-3 series with the Hartford Wolfpack last week. “It’s a great environment for him to come in because he can interact with his teammates — and that’s what these guys are; they were teammates with them — in a more casual environment,” Maurice said.

“He’s not under the pressure of going into the net the next night, so it’s a great way for him to kind of come back. It’s also good [that] we can tailor now how heavy his days are. He’s gonna get out with shooters and get really worked hard on certain days, which will be great for him, and then it also allows to work with Anthony [Stolarz] and Sergei. It’s a great environment for him.

” JORDAN MCPHERSON 305-376-2129 Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Marlins and high school sports for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.