The Tampa Bay Lightning fell 4-2 to the Florida Panthers in Game 4 on Monday night, but much of the postgame attention focused on a second-period hit.
Aaron Ekblad leveled Brandon Hagel with a high hit near the boards midway through the second period, catching the Lightning forward in the head with a forearm.
Hagel went down immediately, left the rink, and did not return while no penalty was called on the play.
Lightning captain Victor Hedman questioned the legality of the hit and its impact on the game, removing Hagel from it.
“Yeah, watching it live, it felt like an elbow,” Hedman said. “And then watching the replay, sure was an elbow.
”He didn’t come back to the game.”
We’ll start the Lightning postgame videos with….
The captain Victor Hedman
Heddy discusses giving away the lead late, the Ekblad hit on Hagel and the power play struggles #GoBolts#NHLpic.twitter.com/UQwAPMgBhB
— Jay Recher (@jayRecher) April 29, 2025
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper was visibly frustrated with the pattern of physical incidents in the series, labeling the conversation on hits “tiresome.”
“It’s getting tiresome answering questions about a hit every single game,” Cooper said. “Why are you asking me the question?
”If anyone in here has something [to say], stand up and let me know.”
Aaron Ekblad goes forearm to Brandon Hagel’s dome. No penalty on the play.
pic.twitter.com/NyjbSJuCSb— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 29, 2025
The hit came one game after Hagel returned from a one-game suspension for a blindside hit on Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov in Game 2.
In total, the past two games have featured 19 penalties, including a game misconduct to Florida’s Niko Mikkola for boarding Tampa Bay’s Zemgus Girgensons in Game 4.
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice refrained from commenting on the specifics of the Ekblad hit during his postgame press conference.
“I don’t want to use this platform to start making my case on this,” Maurice said. “Everybody’s got a job to deal with. I’ll just stay in my lane.”
The Lightning led 2-1 after 40 minutes following goals from Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak, but Florida stormed back with three unanswered goals in the third to take a 3-1 series lead over Tampa Bay.
Related: NHL Experts Clash Over Possible Suspension for Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk
Related: Lightning Coach Uses Paul Maurice’s Own Words in Perfect Clapback
The Tampa Bay Lightning fell 4-2 to the Florida Panthers in Game 4 on Monday night, but much of the postgame attention focused on a second-period hit.
Aaron Ekblad leveled Brandon Hagel with a high hit near the boards midway through the second period, catching the Lightning forward in the head with a forearm.
Hagel went down immediately, left the rink, and did not return while no penalty was called on the play.
Lightning captain Victor Hedman questioned the legality of the hit and its impact on the game, removing Hagel from it.
“Yeah, watching it live, it felt like an elbow,” Hedman said. “And then watching the replay, sure was an elbow.
”He didn’t come back to the game.”
We’ll start the Lightning postgame videos with….
The captain Victor Hedman
Heddy discusses giving away the lead late, the Ekblad hit on Hagel and the power play struggles #GoBolts#NHLpic.twitter.com/UQwAPMgBhB
— Jay Recher (@jayRecher) April 29, 2025
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper was visibly frustrated with the pattern of physical incidents in the series, labeling the conversation on hits “tiresome.”
“It’s getting tiresome answering questions about a hit every single game,” Cooper said. “Why are you asking me the question?
”If anyone in here has something [to say], stand up and let me know.”
Aaron Ekblad goes forearm to Brandon Hagel’s dome. No penalty on the play.
pic.twitter.com/NyjbSJuCSb— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 29, 2025
The hit came one game after Hagel returned from a one-game suspension for a blindside hit on Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov in Game 2.
In total, the past two games have featured 19 penalties, including a game misconduct to Florida’s Niko Mikkola for boarding Tampa Bay’s Zemgus Girgensons in Game 4.
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice refrained from commenting on the specifics of the Ekblad hit during his postgame press conference.
“I don’t want to use this platform to start making my case on this,” Maurice said. “Everybody’s got a job to deal with. I’ll just stay in my lane.”
The Lightning led 2-1 after 40 minutes following goals from Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak, but Florida stormed back with three unanswered goals in the third to take a 3-1 series lead over Tampa Bay.
Related: NHL Experts Clash Over Possible Suspension for Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk
Related: Lightning Coach Uses Paul Maurice’s Own Words in Perfect Clapback
