“Aaron’s out. We know what the deep errors are at the minute. Let’s just assume, you know, if he’s out of the lineup, and if he’s not, then we’ll go with what we got,” said Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice after Aaron Ekblad’s Round 1 incident with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel. He got a two-game suspension, but that wasn’t the end of it. Ekblad threw a big, hard hit that caught Hagel right in the chin, and it sparked a lot of anger from Lightning players, fans, and even the wider NHL community.

There’s been quite a bit of chatter about the Panthers defenseman, but now that he’s back for Round 2 Game 2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ekblad is opening up about what went down a few days ago.

On X, Jesse Blake reported: “Aaron Ekblad describes his hit on Hagel: ‘I was coming for his chest. I caught him in the chin and that’s unfortunate, but it’s not my intention. I’m never out to hurt anybody on the ice.’ He’s back in tonight after serving his 2 game suspension.” So, what was the message the Panthers defenseman wanted to get across?

Aaron Ekblad talked about how he meant to hit Hagel in the chest, not the head, and he made it clear that he never wants to hurt anyone. However, the way the play went down, along with Hagel’s obvious distress, turned him into a focal point of controversy. “Just purposely going for someone’s head, it’s as bad as it gets,” Hagel said after taking a hit from the Panthers defenseman.

After serving his suspension and getting back into the lineup, Ekblad called the incident unfortunate but made sure to emphasize his respect for his opponents, gently countering the villain image that had quickly developed around him. How did the Panthers do without their star defenseman in that game against the Toronto Maple Leafs?

Aaron Ekblad’s team narrowly missed out on the win

The second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs kicked off with the Toronto Maple Leafs narrowly defeating the Florida Panthers 5-4 at Scotiabank Arena, giving them a 1-0 lead in the series. William Nylander really took charge of Toronto’s offense, netting two goals and adding an assist. He got things rolling just 33 seconds into the game and found the back of the net again in the first period.

Matthew Knies and Chris Tanev both chipped in with a goal and an assist, and Morgan Rielly also got on the scoreboard for the Maple Leafs. Things got a bit worrisome in the second period when Panthers forward Sam Bennett threw an elbow at Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz’s head. Stolarz, who had a solid performance stopping 8 of 9 shots, had to leave the game after feeling unwell and vomiting on the bench. He was taken to the hospital but was later discharged, although he won’t be playing in Game 2.

Backup goalie Joseph Woll came in and made 17 saves out of 20 shots. Even though Florida made a late push with third-period goals from Eetu Luostarinen, Uvis Balinskis, and Bennett, Toronto managed to hang on for the win. We’ll just have to wait and see how things heat up between the two franchises.