Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad’s hit that knocked Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel out of Game 4 wasn’t penalized by the referees.
But the NHL Department of Player Safety had its say, suspending Ekblad two games for elbowing. The Tuesday announcement came in the wake of a hearing it had with Ekblad earlier in the day.
Hagel was playing his first game after serving a one-game interference suspension for knocking Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov out of Game 2 with a late, hard hit.
The Ekblad incident happened in the second period Monday when the defenseman skated toward Hagel and caught him up high with his arm. Hagel fell and hit his head on the ice and was woozy as he skated to the dressing room. He didn’t return and won’t play in Game 5, the team said.
Ekblad would later score in the third period to start a rally that gave the Panthers a 4-2 victory and a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Wednesday in Tampa.
Ekblad was playing his second game after returning from a 20-game PED suspension.
Niko Mikkola fined for boarding Zemgus Girgensons
Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola was fined $5,000 for boarding Lightning forward Zemgus Girgensons in Game 4. Mikkola was ejected after hitting Girgensons into the boards while his opponent was on his knees.
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