Andrew Brunette faced familiar faces on Tuesday when the Nashville Predators lost 4-1 to his former NHL team, the Florida Panthers, at Bridgestone Arena. And while the coach may have great memories from the players he coached in Sunrise, he was quite frustrated with Sam Bennett as the forward injured Roman Josi.
During the second period of the game in Nashville, Bennett hit Josi from behind near the boards. The Predators captain went down after his head hit the glass, and even though Josi stayed on the ice for the remainder of the period, he did not come back for the third.
“I didn’t like it. I don’t think there’s a place for it,” Brunette said of that action. While the Predators coach made it clear that he still thinks highly of his former player, Brunette believes Bennett went too far with that hit.
“I know [Bennett] is an honest, hard player,” Brunette added. “I just thought it was a little reckless. I thought it was a very vulnerable position that [Josi] was in, that close to the boards, head first. The League will look at it. They’ll have different angles, and we’ll take another look at it here as well. But just unfortunate to lose a player like that from that kind of hit.”
Brunette believes Bennett deserved bigger punishment for hit on Josi
Bennett was immediately given a two-minute penalty for boarding, a decision that didn’t satisfy Brunette since such infractions aren’t subject to review. Per NHL rules, only major penalties are eligible for on-ice review.
“In that situation, for me, the rule’s in place to at least look at it,” Brunette said. “To me, that was a easy one to look at it. If you deem it (not a major), that’s why the rule is in place to call it.“
Brunette coached Bennett in his lone season as head coach for the Panthers in 2021-22, when Florida’s campaign ended in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He found a new home in Nashville for the 2023-24 NHL season, but couldn’t get past the first round of the playoffs. Now, his Predators sit 7th in the Central Division with 47 points, product of a 20-30-7 record.
Josi still out for Brunette, Predators after Bennett’s hit
To make things even more challenging this season, Josi remains on the sidelines after Bennett’s hit. The 34-year-old is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, which is a huge blow for a team that desperately needs its captain to step up.
“We lost our best player and he’s the captain of our team,” Brunette said. “He’s not gonna lay around, pretend he’s hurt, and not come out. That’s not what the rule’s in place for. We don’t make decisions after the hit. Make a decision on what the hit was.”
With Josi’s return date still uncertain, the Predators have recalled defenseman Marc Del Gaizo from their AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals.