During the Tampa Bay Lightning's Game 4 matchup against the Florida Panthers, star forward Brandon Hagel exited after receiving a high hit from defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
The play happened along the boards during the second period. After Hagel moved the puck forward, Ekblad threw his forearm directly into the Lightning winger's head.
Ekblad escaped the play without a penalty and later tied the game up at 2-2 in the third period. From there, the Panthers would score two more times and defeat the Lightning by a 4-2 final score.
Hagel is one of the Lightning's best players, so they will undoubtedly be hoping that he does not need to miss time after Ekblad's hit. The 26-year-old forward just had an incredible regular-season for the Lightning, posting new career highs with 35 goals, 55 assists, and 90 points in 82 games.
At the time of this writing, NHL Player Safety has not announced if Ekblad will have a hearing for this play. It will be interesting to see if that changes.
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