Sam Bennett, TJ Brodie will not return to the game

In, out, in, out… out.

That’s been both Sam Bennett’s night tonight, ever since he took a hit from Mike Fisher into the glass, as seen above. He took a quick 11-second shift before leaving for the rest of the first period.

Bennett was back to start the second, but he only played two shifts before leaving once again, and effectively ending his night. He played just 3:49 total.

The good news? Aside from not knowing just how bad Bennett’s injury is – meaning we don’t know if he’s just sitting out the rest of this game, or if he’ll have to miss additional time – is that at the very least, the Flames aren’t really playing for anything anymore, so his loss doesn’t hurt anything in the big picture.

The bad news? Bennett isn’t technically a prospect anymore, but he’s still a big part of the Flames’ future, and out of all the players who could get injured, he’s one of the guys you’d really rather that not happen to. This is just his 67th NHL game, and this season, he’s treading just under half a point per game. 

The silver lining? If Bennett’s injury is bad enough to force him to miss additional time, the Flames won’t burn a recall on his replacement. With just 12 forwards up, including Bennett, it’d be of the emergency variety.

And though Bennett plays down the middle now, the Flames wouldn’t necessarily have to bring up a centre from Stockton; not when they have enough players on the roster who can play down the middle, such as Joe Colborne, or Josh Jooris. 

Still – hopefully it’s just for this game, because Bennett is still one of the guys worth watching as this season closes down.

On a night with possibly the most interesting defence unit available to the Flames, it’s unfortunate they had to end up shorthanded, as Brodie’s night ended early as well, courtesy of a hit from behind from Filip Forsberg.

Brodie was still one of the Flames’ leaders in ice time even when his night ended. He played one shift in the third period, but after 38 seconds, that was it.

Brodie is in the midst of a career season, though he’s still one point back of reaching his career high of 41 points. Still, throughout this season – even right from the start, when he missed the first nine games of the year – he’s established himself as the Flames’ number one defenceman.

However, unlike at the start of the season, losing him now isn’t as big of a concern because, well, the Flames’ season isn’t going anywhere.

Should Brodie’s injury cause him to miss more time, then Tyler Wotherspoon’s emergency recall will likely extend, and he’ll get more NHL time. Should neither Brodie nor Deryk Engelland (who’s considered day-to-day) be able to go for the Flames’ next game on March 11, however, we’ll probably see another player called up – and if I had to guess, I’d guess Brett Kulak would get the nod.

That’s assuming the injuries are bad enough to force extended time missed, however. Dennis Wideman will miss the next game on suspension, but he’ll be back on March 14, so the emergency situation isn’t likely to last too much longer, however.