Should Sam Bennett’s game-tying goal have counted? What Panthers, Bruins, NHL had to say

Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett, who has quickly found himself playing the villain role in this second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Boston Bruins, found yet another way to get under the skin of his opponents and their fans on Sunday.

Bennett, who was booed basically every time he touched the puck Sunday, got the final laugh in Game 4 with his game-tying goal 3:41 into the third period on the way to a 3-2 Panthers win at TD Garden to put Florida up 3-1 in the best-of-7 series.

Bennett got hold of a loose puck and beat Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman to even the score at 2-2 in the final seconds of a power play.

However, the goal wasn’t without controversy. The Bruins challenged for goaltender interference — Bennett looked to have pushed Boston’s Charlie Coyle into Swayman before taking the shot — but the call stood.

The goal came one game after Bennett collided and appeared to throw a punch at Bruins captain Brad Marchand, who did not play in Game 4.

But should the goal have counted? Here is what was said about the play from all sides — the league, the Panthers and the Bruins.

NHL perspective

The NHL situation room’s full statement on the matter: “Video review supported the Referees’ call on the ice that that the shove by Florida’s Sam Bennett on Charlie Coyle and the subsequent contact with Jeremy Swayman did not prevent Swayman from playing his position in the crease prior to Bennett’s goal.”

Panthers perspective

Sam Bennett: “I wasn’t surprised. I think they got the right call. I think by the time I’m putting the puck in, [it’s] before Swayman is going to be able to get over there whether Coyle was on him or not.”

Panthers coach Paul Maurice: “It had no impact on the play of the game. The contact between the two is not egregious at all. The play just gets finished more than anything else.”

Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, who scored the game-winning goal about four minutes after Bennett tied it: “We were confident. They reviewed it. They counted it. We’re good with that.”

Bruins perspective

Bruins coach Jim Montgomery: “We thought that Coyle was on top of our goaltender and if Coyle was able to stand his ground, he would have been able to clear the puck. That inhibited our goaltender from being able to react to playing the puck.”

Jeremy Swayman: “The fact is Coyle was pushed into me and I couldn’t play my position. That’s that.”

Charlie Coyle: “I’m trying to make a play. It goes through me. I feel a push from behind. I go down on Sway. The puck trickles past, right to their guy. Empty net. I figured I could probably turn around and make a play on it or clear it. That’s what happened. It’s a tough call. Sometimes you’ve got to play through things. Can’t make excuses.”

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