TORONTO -- Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett denied any "ill intent" after he elbowed Maple Leafs' goaltender Anthony Stolarz in the head during Game 1 of their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series on Monday.
Bennett collided with Stolarz midway through the second period on a Florida power-play opportunity. There was no penalty called by the official standing nearby. Stolarz remained briefly in the net before going to Toronto's bench and vomiting. He exited from there and was later taken from Scotiabank Arena to a local hospital.
Sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday that the NHL would not be assessing any supplemental discipline against Bennett for the hit. Florida did not make Bennett available to media following Florida's 5-4 loss on Monday, but Bennett defended his actions in a Tuesday news conference.
"I'm just taking a puck to the net," he said. "I didn't even know that we made contact until after. And I'm on the power play. I'm trying to score. I'm taking the puck to the net. That's really all there was to it."
Bennett became good friends with Stolarz when they were teammates last year in Florida, when Stolarz backed up for Sergei Bobrovsky throughout the Panthers' Stanley-Cup-winning season. After Monday's game, Bennett reached out to Stolarz and said the goalie responded.
The uproar over Bennett's play has historical roots. When the Leafs and Panthers met in a 2023 second-round series, Bennett drove Toronto forward Matthew Knies into the boards, causing a concussion. Last year, Bennett was suspended in another second-round series against Boston for punching now-teammate Brad Marchand.
Now Bennett is the villain again, whether he sees himself that way or not.
"I can understand why people react [the way they have]," Bennett said. "Because Stolly is injured. When your starting goalie gets injured, people are going to be upset. Looking back at the video, the contact that was made was, in my opinion, it's really just a bump. There was no forceful action. I mean, I'm trying to score. The last thing in my mind is thinking about elbowing him in the head. When it happened, I didn't even realize that I made contact."
Stolarz, who made eight saves on nine shots prior to the hit, was replaced after by backup Joseph Woll. The two netminders shared Toronto's crease for much of the regular season, but Stolarz has been the Leafs' number one in the postseason, going 4-2 with a .902 SV% and 2.19 GAA in Toronto first-round series win over Ottawa.
Stolarz did not practice with the Leafs on Tuesday, but the team had breakfast with him and coach Craig Berube did not rule him out as the team's starter in Game 2 on Wednesday.
"I'll probably find out later [on Tuesday]," he said.
If Stolarz can't play, the Leafs will turn again to Woll, with Dennis Hildeby backing up. Woll was 27-14-9 in the regular season with a .909 SV% and 2.73 GAA.
The Leafs had a 4-1 lead against Florida when Woll entered on Monday before the Panthers pushed back to nearly the close the gap. Bennett sees part of his role in helping Florida advance towards another Cup championship is playing a "hard style of hockey" and not letting outside conversations act as a deterrent.
"People get upset about things and worked up, but I try to just tune that out," he said. "I'm just trying to play my game, just trying to help the team win and push that noise away. I play the game hard. I think it needs to be played hard in the playoffs."
Bennett admitted he "feels bad" that Stolarz had to be hospitalized because of the collision while maintaining a lack of any premeditation of what was about to happen in the game.
"It's never my intent [to injure]," he said. "At the same time, hockey is a physical game and it's part of the game."
Panthers' coach Paul Maurice was animated in his own defense of Bennett and how he has been treated in the wake of Stolarz's injury.
"I've seen every hit that Sam Bennett's thrown since he was 12 years old on TV this morning," Maurice said. "There was a hit 2 years ago that [the media has] shown 4,000 times. There was a parking ticket seven years ago that I think made the video. He's got the puck, he's on the power play, he's going to the net. I understand. Call the fire department. Put your hair out. Let's move on. Please."
