Sam Bennett's forearm clipped goaltender Anthony Stolarz in the head as he was jostling near the front of the net for a rebound during the Game 1 loss.

A sloppy first period ensued for the Panthers, who dropped Game 1 of their best-of-7 Stanley Cup playoffs second-round series to the Maple Leafs 5-4 on Monday at Scotiabank Arena despite a third-period comeback bid.

Less than 24 hours after the Florida Panthers did not make Sam Bennett available to talk to the media, the forward offered his thoughts Tuesday on the controversial hit on Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz.