Brandon Hagel was assessed a five-minute major and suspended one game after his hit against Aleksander Barkov midway through the third period of Game 2 of the Lightning’s first-round series against the Panthers,

Brandon Hagel just completed the first season of his eight-year, $52,000,000 contract extension signed with the Lightning in 2023. Had Aaron Ekblad asked Brandon Hagel to fight in response to his hit on Barkov, the Lightning winger would not have backed down.

Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad has been suspended for two games for elbowing Lightning forward Brandon Hagel in the head midway through Game 4 of Florida's first-round series against Tampa Bay.