Canada’s Sam Bennett to play semifinal game against Finland

With Sidney Crosby out for Canada’s semifinal against Finland, Sam Bennett will draw back into the lineup on Friday afternoon in Milan, Italy.

Bennett will play on Canada’s fourth line along with Brandon Hagel and Brad Marchand, with Sam Reinhart moving to Canada’s 13th forward spot.

Other lineup changes include Nick Suzuki taking Crosby’s job on the third line beside Mark Stone and Mitch Marner. Seth Jarvis will move up to the second line, playing alongside Bo Horvat and Nathan MacKinnon.

Bennett has primarily played on Canada’s fourth line, surpassing the 10-minute mark just once. Bennett was a late addition to the Canadian roster after replacing Anthony Cirelli on Feb. 3, meaning he was always one of the top candidates to be scratched at some point in the tournament.

Bennett had one point in a depth role at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year, but has won consecutive Stanley Cup championships with the Florida Panthers. Bennett has 42 points in 57 games, putting him on pace for 60 points. That would be the best output of his NHL career after registering 51 a year ago.

Canada’s game gets underway at 10:40 AM ET on Friday, with a spot in Sunday’s gold medal game against either Slovakia or the United States on the line. The loser of each semifinal will play in the bronze medal game on Saturday.