Florida Panthers Aaron Ekblad Suspended 2 Games

Florida Panthers Defenseman Aaron Ekblad was suspended for two games for the second time by the  NHL/NHLPA. Ekblad was suspended for performance-enhancing substances for the last 20 games of the NHL season. He returned in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But now he was suspended again for two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Tuesday for his controversial hit in Game 4 against Tampa Bay.

Aaron Ekblad Suspended For Two Games

During the second period against the Lightning on Monday, Ekblad struck Tampa Bay Forward Brandon Hagel in the head with his forearm. Ekblad, who was not penalized on the play, later scored the tying goal in the 4-2 Florida victory.

Hagel was suspended earlier in the series for a hit against Florida Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov. Barkov did not return in Game 2 when he was hit by Hagel. Hagel also did not return in Game 4 from the hit from Ekblad and will not play Wednesday in Tampa for Game 5.

Head Coach Jon Cooper was not a fan of the media comments about the hitting that has been happening in this series. He did comment on Hagel saying, “He’s not playing tomorrow. And you know why. There is a lot of trolling between the head coaches in this series, with what Head Coach Paul Maurice said after the hit on Barkov: “We only hit players with pucks.”

Final Thoughts

Also, Florida Defenseman Niko Mikkola has been fined $5,000 for a boarding infraction in Game 4. He was given a five-minute major and was ejected from the game but will not be suspended. The battle of Florida is heated between these two teams. The Florida Panthers are ahead in the series 3-1 and will head to Tampa Bay for Game 5 to try to close out the series with Aaron Ekblad again.

Aaron Ekblad will miss Games 5 and 6 if the series makes it to those games. If the Florida Panthers make it to the second round, they will face the winner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators series.