The rivalry between the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning really heated up after what happened in Game 2. So what went down at the Florida Derby? Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov got hurt at 9:51 of the third period after taking a hit away from the puck from Lightning forward Brandon Hagel. After a video review, Hagel ended up getting a major penalty. Things really heated up when Barkov got sidelined. The players in white and red definitely weren’t happy about that.
Even Panthers forward Sam Bennett mentioned, “Yeah, I mean, I don’t think we expected anything less. You know, two teams that play each other a lot in the playoffs. That rivalry is just growing and growing, you know. We just hate them more and more every time we play them, so it makes for good hockey.” So, things are really heating up for both teams, yeah? Looks like there’s going to be more action for the fans! But, things could take a turn for the worse for both Tampa Bay and Brandon Hagel.
On the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman mentioned, “But we’ll see, like especially in these situations, you generally have to wait a day or two to really understand what you’re dealing with. But, you know, Barkov never touched the puck. And, you know, some people were like, he didn’t hit him in the head. Fine, that’s good. He didn’t hit him in the head, but he wasn’t eligible to be hit. Like it wasn’t there. I was actually shocked.” Friedman has watched plenty of games, and honestly, this one just didn’t cut it. He thought it was against the rules to do that on ice. So, what’s the reason behind that?
According to NHL Rule 56, interference happens when a player gets in the way of an opponent who isn’t holding the puck. A big penalty is definitely called for when that kind of interference leads to injury or is seen as reckless. It looks like the officials decided to hand out a major penalty, and now there’s a disciplinary hearing on the table. This suggests that they viewed Hagel’s hit as illegal.
Friedman pointed out, “Like if you look at the rulebook, if a player is injured by interference and gets a major, they can get a game misconduct for that. So I was actually a little surprised Hagel didn’t get that. I love the player. I think a lot of Canadians fell in love with Hagel at the Four Nations this year. But he made a mistake here, and he’s probably going to get sat out a game for it. We’re expecting a hearing. And when you get a hearing, you’re expecting a suspension. It’s extremely rare that you have a hearing and don’t get a suspension. You know, he just made a mistake, and it’s going to cost him and the Lightning.”
Sure, things can get a bit heated in the moment, but at the end of the day, injuring an opponent is definitely going to lead to some consequences. Friedman mentioned that if Barkov doesn’t bounce back and ends up missing the playoffs due to a serious injury, we’ll just have to wait and see how long of a suspension Hagel might face for what he did on the ice. This will definitely hurt not just the Tampa Bay forward but also his team as a whole. But, did you know the Panthers are already checking out a target?
Another Tampa Bay player might get into some action because of Brandon Hagel’s act
So, after Game 2 with the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, it seems like that hit by Brandon Hagel on Aleksander Barkov stirred up quite a bit of controversy. There was this video on social media from B/R Open Ice, and it had the caption, stating, “Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand, and Sam Bennett were all chirping the Lightning bench at the end of Game 2. Absolute nightmare fuel for the rest of the NHL.”
Joe Haggerty chimed in on the social media post, saying, “Florida Panthers are all telling Kucherov that he’s going to get it for Hagel’s hit on Barkov. Things are about to get nasty in the Battle of Florida.” Looks like we might need to sound the alarm because the Panthers are ready to take it to the Lightning in Game 3! What’s the reason for that? If you check out the video, you’ll definitely notice how Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand, and Sam Bennett were chirping the Tampa Bay players. These three Panthers really got under Nikita Kucherov’s skin.
Kucherov might have a bit of a short fuse, but you never know what could go down in Game 3. Having players like Marchand, Tkachuk, and Bennett all on one team, especially after what’s already happened, is like poking a sleeping panther. It’s bound to stir things up! You just never know when they might come after you…
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