Everything one needs to understand about Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett as a Stanley Cup Playoffs juggernaut was epitomized by one shift in their Game 3 win over the Edmonton Oilers. It began with a backcheck.

Bennett had the kind of shift in Game 3’s victory on Monday that tells the larger Panthers’ story. It’s as much the moment of this series as Panthers forward Brad Marchand’s breakaway goal to win Game 2, defenseman Aaron Ekblad’s hit that sent Connor McDavid spinning to the ice or McDavid’s brilliant “walk-on-water toe tap,’’ as Ekblad called it.

As Sam Bennett’s playoff lore continues to grow with each playoff goal scored, his pending free agency only grows more fascinating. On the one hand, you have a soon-to-be 29-year-old second-line center — a decent one that plays with an edge and has scored at a 53-point pace since joining the Florida Panthers.

In a single shift, Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett showed why he’s been one of the most unstoppable players in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

In a single shift, Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett showed why he’s been one of the most unstoppable players in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett scored again, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe each got his first goal in the Stanley Cup finals, and the defending champion Florida Panthers capitalized on the Edmonton Oilers’ worst performance in weeks to win Game 3 in a 6-1 rout Monday night and take a 2-1 series lead.