Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad has been suspended for two playoff games for elbowing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, the NHL announced today (April 29).
With less than nine minutes left in the second period of Florida’s 4-2 victory on Monday (April 28), Hagel played the puck out of the Tampa Bay zone near the boards. Ekblad skated in on him and delivered a hit with his right forearm that made contact with Hagel’s head, shoving Hagel down in the process. The back of Hagel’s head bounced off the ice. He was pulled from the game because of concussion concerns and didn’t return to the bench. Ekblad was not penalized on the play.
