“It’s getting tiresome, answering questions about a hit every single game.” Tampa Bay Lightning’s coach Jon Cooper‘s frustration seemed to have peaked after no penalty was called when Florida Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad hit Lightning forward Brandon Hagel in the head with his elbow. But you reap what you sow, and destiny has caught up with the Cats’ blue line star.

While the match officials turning a blind eye to Ekblad’s massive blow to Brandon received a lot of flak from the hockey community, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety had something to say on the matter. The Miami team walked away victorious from last night’s game, they will have to suit up for the next game without Ekblad. But will the 29-year-old Panthers star also have to pay financially for his action on top of serving his sentence?

The official NHL website revealed on April 29 via a video upload that the NHL’s DOPS has handed the Canadian defenseman a two-match suspension for his elbow hit on Hagel, who left yesterday’s game after the blow and did not return to action afterward. “This is a direct blow to an opponent’s head with an extended elbow, delivered with requisite force for supplemental discipline,” the video notes. Translation? The Panthers’ defenseman won’t be able to lace up again before the last game of the Battle of Florida.

However, lucky for Aaron, the verdict did not mention a fine. In fact the short video posted by the DOPS stated, “Ekblad has been neither fined nor suspended previously by the Department of Player Safety in 732 games in his NHL career. Now, while the Panthers’ star won’t be burning a hole in his pocket while Hagel will be paying his own price.

As per a recent update on X by the official Tampa Bay account, Hagel will not be playing in Game 5. However, it’s not like Brandon has maintained a good streak himself. In Game 2, the Bolts’ star took out Aleksander Barkov, the Cats’ captain, from behind. Barkov wasn’t in possession of the puck, and Hagel slamming into him from the back got the Panthers’ ring leader lying on the ice with his hands supporting his head. The NHL suspended Hagel for one game, but upon his return in Game 4, it looked like Florida wanted to hand out its own justice to the Canadian winger.

Meanwhile, Ekblad also has had a lot on his plate in recent months. In March, the defenseman tested positive for using performance-enhancing substances, which got him in trouble. The NHL suspended Ekblad for 20 games, which exiled him to the sidelines for the remainder of the regular season and even for the first of the two playoff matches against the Tampa Bay Lightning. And soon after the verdict, the veteran defenseman expressed how sorry he was.

“I have let my teammates, the Panthers organization and our great fans down. For that, I am truly sorry. I have accepted responsibility for my mistake,” Ekblad said after the suspension. And while his comeback wasn’t anything to go ga-ga over, it was a start, and Aaron could breathe a sigh of relief. “I am happy to get my feet under me in a game,” he told the NHL after Game 3 at the Amerant Bank Arena last Saturday, noting that “onward and upward” is the only way forward. But the Cats’ star isn’t the only one who has fallen prey to the intensity that is the Battle of Florida.

Aaron Ekblad isn’t the only thug in the Panthers’ roster

The Panthers won Game 4 4-2, to extend their lead to 3-1. And yet, the match was filled with scrums that added to the excitement(read: controversy). Soon after Ekblad’s hit on Hagel, just 19 seconds into the third period, the Cats’ Niko Mikkola boarded Tampa Bay’s Zemgus Girgensons when the latter was down on his knees. Mikkola was also reprimanded for his actions on Tuesday, receiving a $5,000 fine, the maximum amount allowed by the CBA. However, while he wasn’t suspended, the in-game officials cracked down on him and ejected him from the game. And as serious as both these offences were, they weren’t entirely unexpected considering the history between the two teams.

Ever since the two sides first met in the NHL in the early 90s, things have been a treat for the hockey fans. From Tampa Bay choosing to refer to the Panthers as “Miami” in their early days to the nail-biting thrillers every time they met in the rink, things have been nothing short of exquisite. And the tradition has been kept alive in the 2024-25 season as well.

The defending champs finished the regular season in third place in the Atlantic Division, just below the Tampa Bay Lightning. While the Cats are the reigning Stanley Cup champs, not having their biggest stars, including Aaron Ekblad and Matthew Tkachuk (who was out of action thanks to a lower-body injury picked up at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February), severely affected their form during the final stretches of the regular season. The Cats and the Bolts both posted two wins against each other in the regular season, making their playoff contention more exciting. This is the second straight year that the in-state arch-rivals met in the first round of the playoffs, and it remains to be seen if Aaron Ekblad can acknowledge the high stakes on the table and maintain his composure for the road ahead.