SUNRISE, Fla. — When the Florida Panthers decided not to sell at the trade deadline Friday, they pointed to the players missing from their lineup as a reason why they believed it was the right move.
For at least one game, the Panthers’ decision seemed somewhat justified. Sam Bennett and Aleksander Barkov both returned to the lineup after multi-game injury absences Saturday and sparked Florida to a badly needed 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a battle of wild-card contenders.
Bennett scored in the first period to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead, Barkov handed out a pair of assists and Florida never trailed to make up some ground in its postseason push with an impressive victory in Sunrise.
