Aaron Ekblad Suspended for Hagel Hit, Will Miss Two Games

FORT LAUDERDALE — Aaron Ekblad will not play for the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night after the defenseman was suspended by the NHL Department of Player Safety.

Ekblad was suspended two games for his high hit to Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel in the second period of Florida’s eventual 4-2 win in Game 4 on Monday night in Sunrise.

The Panthers lead the best-of-7 series 3-1 with Game 5 on Wednesday in Tampa at 7:30 p.m. (Scripps/ESPN2).

If the Panthers were to win Game 5 and end the series against the Lightning, Ekblad would serve the second game in the opener of the second round.

Hagel, who has hit along the boards after releasing the puck, left the game immediately after getting off the ice and did not return.

Ekblad was not penalized for the hit, and remained in the game.

He scored the game-tying goal late in the third, with Seth Jones scoring 11 seconds later to give the Panthers their first lead since the second.

Tuesday, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper announced — knowing that Ekblad had a phone hearing with the DoPS later Tuesday — that Hagel would be out for Game 5.

The Panthers played 20 games without Ekblad after he was suspended for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.

Two of those games included the first two games of this Lightning series, both won by the Panthers in Tampa.

Uvis Balinskis will likely return to the lineup Wednesday in place of Ekblad.

“Over the last three years, we have had really important players out for big blocks of time,” coach Paul Maurice said Tuesday before the suspension was announced.

“Because we have been through it so much, and Aaron has been out, we know how to give out the minutes. If he’s not out of the lineup, we’ll go with what we’ve got.”

Hagel has been a focal point of this series since his high hit on Sasha Barkov in Game 2. He took a 5-minute major for interference in the third period for it, but stayed in the game.

He was suspended for Game 3.

Barkov is believed to have been in concussion protocol after the Game 2 hit, but returned for Game 3.

Hagel was back in the Lightning lineup on Monday and was booed every time he touched the puck.

2025 NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND: GAME 5

FLORIDA PANTHERS @ TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 

Panthers lead Best-of-7 Series 3-1

• When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
• Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa 
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• National TV: ESPN2
• Streaming: Panthers+
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Series Schedule — Game 1: Florida 6, @ Tampa Bay 2; Game 2: Florida 2, @ Tampa Bay 0; Game 3: Tampa Bay 5, @ Florida 1; Game 4: @ Florida 4, Tampa Bay 2; Game 5 at Tampa: Wednesday (ESPN2/Scripps), 7:30; Game 6* at Florida: Friday (TBA); Game 7* at Tampa: Sunday (TBA).
• Regular Season Series: Tied 2-2
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 79-53-19, 10 ties
• All-Time Postgame Series: Tampa Bay Leads 2-1 (won 2021 first-round, 2022 ECS); Florida d. Lightning 4-1 in 2024 first-round.