Bennett hat trick sparks Panthers to win against Islanders

Sam Bennett scored a hat trick to help the Florida Panthers to a 5-1 win against the New York Islanders at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday.

"It was an amazing feeling," Bennett said. "I've had a lot of fun here in Florida, and every game I have more fun. We've got a great team. It was a great game."
Bennett has 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 12 regular-season games for Florida since the forward was acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames last season on April 12.
Anthony Duclair and Aleksander Barkov scored, Gustav Forsling had two assists, and Jonathan Huberdeau got his 500th NHL point for the Panthers, who have won two straight to start the season. Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves.
Oliver Wahlstrom scored, and Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves for the Islanders, who have lost their first two games.
"We're spending a lot of time in our own zone," New York defenseman Adam Pelech said. "We're getting worn out down there and it takes a toll on you. Every time they enter the zone, we have to be dialed in with that, so there's no excuses there."

The Islanders have allowed at least five goals in both games. They lost 6-3 at the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, when Sorokin gave up five goals on 40 shots.
Bennett fended off Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson and scored on the rebound of a Radko Gudas shot to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 9:10 of the first period.
Bennett pushed the lead to 2-0 at 3:48 of the second period when he took a pass from Huberdeau and got past two defenders before scoring on a wraparound.
"The first one was just going to the net and I was able to bang it in," Bennett said. "The second one was a great pass from [Huberdeau] to find me. I was just able to wait out the goalie."

Ryan Pulock scored for the Islanders at 8:06, but the goal was overturned after the Panthers challenged for goaltender interference.
Duclair knocked down a stretch pass from MacKenzie Weegar at Florida's offensive blue line and deked to his backhand for a breakaway goal and a 3-0 lead at 18:57.
"I was shocked why he didn't use his hand," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "The way he took it off his tape there was an unbelievable play. The great play was [Duclair] taking the pass, staying onside, being in stride and making the finish as well. We'll give a little credit to [Weegar]."
The Islanders outshot the Panthers 20-13 through two periods.
"I thought we were really good in the first two periods," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "They didn't have very many scoring opportunities, but when we've been breaking down, we've been really breaking down in some areas. We probably didn't deserve to be down 3-0 after two periods."
Wahlstrom cut it to 3-1 when he gathered a loose puck below the left face-off circle and scored a power-play goal at 3:30 of the third period.
Bennett completed the hat trick when he carried the puck through the neutral zone and scored on a wrist shot from the high slot to make it 4-1 at 9:39. Matt Kierstad got the assist for his first NHL point.
Barkov made it 5-1 at 12:22 when he cut to the slot and flipped the puck in.
"No matter what line we put on the ice, the objective is to play offense, keep the puck and play in their end," Quenneville said. "Any line can score. Tonight, we did a lot of good things."
NOTES: Huberdeau has 168 goals and 332 assists in 593 games. … Bennett's only other NHL hat trick came when he scored four goals for the Flames in a 6-0 win against the Panthers on Jan. 14, 2016. … Defenseman Zdeno Chara was minus-4 for the Islanders. … It was the second of 13 straight road games to start the season for New York, which debuts at its new home, UBS Arena, against Calgary on Nov. 20.