Calgary Flames rookie playing role of first-round X-factor

Just hours before the start of this best-of-seven slugfest with the Vancouver Canucks, somebody asked Calgary Flames top prospect Sam Bennett if he might have an advantage because he’d already suited up for a handful of playoff contests in the Ontario Hockey League this spring.

He laughed.

“I think it’s a little different in the NHL,” Bennett responded.

It sure is.

Here’s a difference that nobody could have predicted, though … After managing only three assists in four post-season skates with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs, Bennett celebrated his first playoff tally of 2015 at hockey’s highest level.

In fact, his third-period garbage goal — Bennett smacked Joe Colborne’s rebound past Canucks…