NHL
NHL Playoffs
SUNRISE, Fla. — A series filled with nasty hits has struck again.
Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad, in his second game back in the lineup on Monday, threw a flying forearm into the head of Tampa Bay forward Brandon Hagel, who has been a villainous figure in this series.
Hagel’s head took the brunt of the hit, and it caromed off the ice because of the hit, which took place midway through the second period.
Ekblad hits Hagel, who goes to the locker room. No call on the play, somehow pic.twitter.com/fwhRkvkCgI
— Shayna (@shaynagoldman_) April 29, 2025
Hagel, one of Tampa Bay’s most important forwards, did not return to the game.
The Lightning, who started the game with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, had only 10 available forwards for the remainder of the game after Hagel was unable to return.
No penalty was called on the play, much to the chagrin of Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper, who erupted on officials with an obscenity-laced tirade after the incident.
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The good news for the Lightning is that the nasty hit seems to have inspired them, if temporarily.
Down 1-0 at the time, Tampa Bay immediately responded with goals from Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak to take a 2-1 lead through 40 minutes, but a late Panthers comeback erased it and Florida came away with a 4-2 win.
Jon Cooper and the Tampa bench was HYPE after Erik Cernak’s goal pic.twitter.com/15ImXzj0ag
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 29, 2025
Cooper was asked about the Hagel hit following the game.
He didn’t offer much of an opinion and became a bit combative with the media because of the question.
“It’s getting tiresome answering questions about a hit every game,” he said. “I’ll ask you. Why are you asking me the question? If anybody in here has something, stand up and let’s go?”
Hagel was suspended for Game 3 because of his blindside hit on Florida captain Aleksander Barkov. Hagel has been booed throughout the night every time he touches the puck and many in the crowd were delighted to see he was injured following the hit.
Florida leads the series 3-1.
(Photo: Rich Storry / Imagn Images)
Josh Yohe is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. Josh joined The Athletic in 2017 after covering the Penguins for a decade, first for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and then for DKPittsburghSports.com. Follow Josh on Twitter @JoshYohe_PGH
