"It was a lot of fun," said Bennett, who now has a pair of hat tricks on the season. "Our whole team was on our game tonight right from the start. We were playing well, playing with energy and having fun all night. That's when our team is at its best."
In fist place in the NHL with a record of 25-7-5, Florida improved to 20-3-0 at home.
"It's a fun place to play, and we are playing an exciting brand of hockey," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "The players are feeding off the crowd, and the crowd is feeding off the players. We want to bring an identity that South Florida is a real hard place to come in."
The Stars can certainly attest to that.
Finding the back of the net for the first time this season, Gustav Forsling opened the scoring when he finished off a tic-tac-toe passing sequence by banging in a feed from Bennett past Jake Oettinger from on the doorstep to put the Panthers up 1-0 just 3:07 into the first period.
Doubling the lead, Anthony Duclair collected a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau, worked his way down into the in the slot and then tucked a shot around Oettinger before flying through the air -- the second time this season that he's gone airborne on a goal -- to make it a 2-0 game at 8:50.
"Confidence is growing," Duclair said. "All four lines and all the D are stepping up at the right moment. You can't forget about Bob [Sergei Bobrovsky]. He was making key saves at key moments at the beginning. A couple bounces and it could've gone the other way. It starts with Bob in net, and we build from there out. It's really fun playing right now, especially at home."
In the second period, the floodgates opened.
After Carter Verhaeghe finished off a give-and-go with Aleksander Barkov by sniping a shot past Oettinger from the high slot to make it 3-0 at 5:33, Huberdeau followed suit just 30 seconds later when he one-timed a pass from Duclair into the back of the cage to push the lead to 4-0 at 6:03.
Following that goal, Anton Khudobin replaced Oettinger in net for Dallas.
Notching his third multi-goal performance this season within a span of less than three minutes, Bennett then scored at 12:37 and 15:30, respectively, to give the Cats a commanding 6-0 lead.
Briefly stopping the bleeding for the Stars, Roope Hintz scored at 1:06 into the third period to make it 6-1, but then Bennett answered back by capping off his night with an exclamation point when he completed the third hat trick of his career to put the game to bed and make it 7-1 at 15:54.
"Sometimes it's just your night," said Bennett, whose first tally of the night came on the power play. "Everything you touch seems to go in or generate a chance. Sometimes the puck follows you around a little bit. You've got to take advantage of those nights because they don't come around too often. It was one of those nights, for sure."
Owning a 7-0-1 record since returning from the NHL's brief pause due to a spike in COVID-19 cases around the league, the Cats have outscored their opponents 45-21 in that torrid stretch.
"I thought we stuck to the game plan, which shows a sign of maturity with this group," Brunette said of the win. "We've learned some lessons, and we're putting them to use here. I really like the way we managed the game and did the right things all game long. We were rewarded for it."
Here are five takeaways from Friday's win over the Stars…
1. FORSLING'S FIRST
After piling up assists, Forsling was finally rewarded with a goal tonight.
Carrying the puck into the offensive zone on a 3-on-2 rush, the smooth-skating defenseman dished the puck to Huberdeau, who then gave it to Bennett, who then immediately sent it right onto Forsling's stick just to the left of the net for a tap-in goal to make it 1-0 in the first period.
Video: DAL@FLA: Forsling taps cross-ice feed in on backdoor
"I was really happy to see that," Brunette said. "He's had so many good looks and he's such an important part of our team. If you could take in a nutshell what he brings, it was that shift - out of the D zone, then jumping in the play for a beautiful tic-tac-toe goal. A great play by Huby and Benny, and I'm ecstatic that Fors finally got rewarded because he does so many good things."
In 32 games this season, Forsling, who also chipped in one blocked shot and one takeaway against the Stars, has produced 19 points (one goal, 18 assists) and a stellar +18 rating.
2. DUKE FLIES
Duclair is racking up some frequent flyer miles on the ice this season.
Flying through the air after burying a goal for the second time this season, the slick speedster doubled Florida's lead to 2-0 in the first period when he took a pass from Huberdeau, slipped through several defenders, and then tucked a shot around Oettinger before falling to the ice.
Video: DAL@FLA: Duclair makes a move to net, scores in close
"It was a pretty good play all around," Duclair said. "I like the way we're playing, moving the puck. Each and every game our chemistry is just growing stronger and stronger. For myself, playing with those two guys, I just want to get open and do my best to score."
Moving up into a tie for the team-lead in goals with 15, Duclair has lit the lamp at least once in 13 of the 29 games that he's laced up his skates in this season. A major contributor on offense during Florida's point streak, he's racked up six goals and five assists over his last eight games.
All over the ice against the Stars, he finished with a team-best +6 rating tonight.
"Benny, Huby and Duke are really feeling it right now," Brunette said.
3. SWAG CITY
While the whole team has swagger, only one player is called Swaggy.
Showcasing some exceptional chemistry, Verhaeghe increased Florida's lead to 3-0 early in the second period when he capped off a smooth give-and-go sequence with Barkov, who made a nice curl along the boards to clear space, by rifling a shot straight past Oettinger from the slot.
Video: DAL@FLA: Verhaeghe enters slot, rips one over glove
"An awesome pass he made tonight to me," Verhaeghe said of Barkov's dish. "I'm lucky I buried it. Over the seasons, he's a pretty good guy to play with. He's awesome. I can't say enough good things about him."
Tied for third on the Panthers in scoring with 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists), Verhaeghe has scored three goals over his last three games. An all-word player when it comes to possession, the team led 11-4 in scoring chances when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 tonight, per NaturalStatTrick.com
"This is the most fun I've had," Verhaeghe said.
4. SCORING RACE HEATS UP
Don't look now, but Huberdeau is climbing up the NHL's scoring leaderboard.
Finishing with a goal and three assists against the Stars, the playmaking wizard, who will be representing the Panthers at the 2022 NHL All-Star Game next month, moved up into fourth place in the league's tight scoring race with 51 points, including a league-leading 37 assists.
Video: DAL@FLA: Huberdeau crashes slot, scores under blocker
"Huby's an all-star for a reason," Duclair said. "He can find anybody out there."
On a seven-game point streak in which he's amassed four goals and 14 assists, Huberdeau is the second-fastest player in franchise history to reach the 50-point mark. While it only took him 37 games, Pavel Bure owns the record by hitting that lofty number in just 34 games in 1999-00.
"He makes everyone around him better," Duclair said.
5. BENNY'S BIG NIGHT
For roughly a three-minute span in the second period, Bennett took over the game.
After taking a pass from Brandon Montour and threading a shot through a pair of Stars and into the net from the high slot to put the Cats on top 5-0 at 12:37, the feisty forward lit the lamp again just 2:53 later when he found a loose puck in the slot and ripped it home to quickly make it 6-0.
Not done there, he was then showered by hats when he scored to make it 7-1 in the third period.
Video: DAL@FLA: Bennett scores 3 for 3rd career hat trick
"When you can generate some personal success and help the team win, it's a great feeling," Bennett said. "I'm enjoying my time in South Florida, that's for sure."
Following each of his goals, the crowd at FLA Live Arena chanted "We want 10!"
"I think they love goals as much as we do," Bennett smiled. "It's great to see that."
Amassing five goals over his last three games, Bennett, who also had four hits tonight, is now tied for second on the team in goals this season with 14. On fire ever since he arrived to the Panthers at last year's trade deadline, he's notched 20 goals in just 38 games since the move.
"He's obviously a big part of our team," Duclair said. "When he gets rolling and he's confident like that, he's as good as anyone. I'm happy to see him get the hat trick tonight. It was a good feeling for everyone here."
BONUS: TAPE OUT HATE
As part of the new "Tape out Hate" anti-racism program from The Hockey Diversity Alliance, the Panthers donned special stick tape with "racism has no place in hockey" on it during warmups.
One of the founding members of the HDA, Duclair said it was great to see so much support.
"I'm so proud of my guys, that's for sure," Duclair said. "I sent out a group text earlier today letting them know we were going to use the tape, and everyone jumped on board right away to support the cause. I really appreciate that from the boys from the bottom of my heart. It's a really good cause. I'm really happy that the organization backed me up as well. Our media team and our management have done a great job all this week promoting it. We're happy to use it."
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