It is unclear how Bennett sustained the injury, but he did not return to Florida’s bench for the start of the second period before being ruled out.
The 29-year-old logged just 5:11 of ice time in the opening period, winning two faceoffs and registering a minus-1 rating.
Bennett entered Monday’s action with 19 goals and 42 points across 54 games.
If the reigning Conn Smythe winner did suffer a substantial injury, it would most likely take him out of the running to be named a replacement to Team Canada’s Olympic roster. Bennett was left off the country’s initial squad, but after suiting up at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, he figured to be a prime candidate to be tabbed if an injury situation arose before the tournament in Milan.
The Panthers have been bogged down with injuries this season, with stars Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand all missing significant time.
While Tkachuk recently returned, Florida was missing seven players from its regular lineup on Monday before Bennett left the game.
Monday’s contest was a prime opportunity for the Panthers to make up ground on the Sabres in the standings. Florida entered the night sitting eight points back of Buffalo for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.