TAMPA, Fla. – Paul Maurice’s Florida Panthers, who had a remarkable third period comeback in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, know the formula for Game 5.
A win at Amalie Arena and the Panthers knock the Lightning out for the second consecutive year.
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A loss and it’s back to Amerant Bank Arena for a pivotal Game 6 Friday night.
The Panthers, however, will be without their top defenseman – with Aaron Ekblad suspended two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety for a “high, forceful elbow” to the head of Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel.
Hagel was pulled from the team’s Game 4 loss due to concussion concerns and Ekblad was not penalized and stayed in the game.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper announced that Hagel will not play tonight.
Ekblad missed the first two games of this first-round series and the final 18 games of the regular season after being suspended without pay this past March for violating the league and NHLPA’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
Maurice, speaking to reporters before puck drop, declined to comment on the Ekblad suspension, but said the team is prepared to play without him the next two games, stating, “We have depth for that.”