The first-round playoff series between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning has had no shortage of physicality.

On Tuesday, the NHL Department of Player Safety made yet another ruling in regard to a play that occurred during the series.

Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad has been suspended for two games for elbowing Tampa's Brandon Hagel during Game 4 on Monday night.

Florida’s Aaron Ekblad has been suspended for two games for elbowing Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel. https://t.co/X3QeNt39Va

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) April 29, 2025

There was no penalty called on the play, which led to Tampa Head Coach Jon Cooper having a heated interaction with one of the officials on the ice.

"One, two, three, four," Cooper yelled while pointing to each of the four officials on the ice. "There's four of you. Holy f---!"

Hagel has since been ruled out of Game 5.

"He's not playing tomorrow," Cooper said Tuesday. "And you know why."

The big, controversial hits have been a trend in this series.

In Game 2, Hagel caught Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov with a high check during the third period that cost him a one-game suspension.

Barkov did not return following the hit, but was fine for Game 3 two nights later. 

During that Game 3, Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk was essentially sent off for good, receiving a five-minute major in the final minutes of the game, after hitting Tampa's Jake Guentzel at center ice.

The difference between the hits and supplemental discipline is that Guentzel had just touched the puck while Barkov never had it, the Department of Player Safety takes that into account.

As the series has progressed, both head coaches, Tampa's Jon Cooper and Florida's Paul Maurice, have been asked about the hits.

At first, the coaches had a cheeky back-and-fourth as Cooper repeated a Maurice quote about Florida players only hitting guys with the puck.

Now, as the series has progressed, it seems the time for lightheartedness is over, based off an interaction Cooper had with a media member after Game 4.

"I think it's getting tiresome answering questions about a hit every single game," Cooper said. "I'll ask you, you asked me the question, why are you asking me the question? Do you have anything to say about it? If anybody in here has something, stand up and let me know."

When the room remained silent, Cooper said, "Alright, let's move on."

As for Maurice, he did address the Ekblad hit when asked about it postgame, but didn't have much to say about it.

"I think I want to be consistent with what I've said on Hagel," Maurice said. "I saw it. I've seen it before, saw it last year. And then we'll all coach, the players will play, the refs will make the calls, and the league will do with it what they will. I don't want to use this platform to start making my case on this. Everybody's got a job to do. I'll stay in my lane."

That lane will take Maurice and the Panthers back up to Tampa for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

A win means Florida will advance to the second round for the fourth consecutive postseason.

A loss means the Panthers will host Tampa in Game 6 on Friday.

Stay tuned.

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Mike Sullivan is the winningest coach in Pittsburgh Penguins history, finishing his ten-year tenure behind the bench with a 409-255-89 record in 753 games. Those totals don't include his postseason numbers, which are 44-38 in 82 games, including two Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017.

Of course, when you have a roster with three bona fide Hall of Famers like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury, the wins tend to come a little easier. However, thanks to his longevity, Sullivan was able to not only break Dan Bylsma's win record but also become the only Pittsburgh head coach to collect 300 and 400 wins.

Here is a look back at all his milestone victories leading the black and gold. 

Win #1 - Nov. 19, 2015 vs. Colorado Avalanche (4-3)

Sullivan won his first game as Penguins head coach when they defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 at CONSOL Energy Center. In the game, Ian Cole had two helpers, while Crosby, Malkin, Chris Kunitz, and David Perron had goals. Fleury made 28 saves for the win. 

Win #100 - Dec. 16, 2017 at Arizona Coyotes (4-2)

Carter Rowney opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal, and Crosby secured Sullivan's 100th win with the Penguins with an empty net goal. Meanwhile, Malkin had a goal and an assist with Olli Määttä chipping in another lamp lighter. Matt Murray earned the win between the pipes. 

Win #200 - Jan. 7, 2020 at Vegas Golden Knights (4-3)

Dominik Kahun had a goal and an assist while Kris Letang had two helpers to help Sullivan secure win #200 versus the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3, at T-Mobile Arena. Pittsburgh also got goals from Patrick Hörnqvist and Brandon Tanev, while Tristan Jarry made 31 saves. At the other end, Fleury had 12 saves in the loss. 

Win #253 - Oct. 16, 2021 vs. Chicago Blackhawks (5-2)

Sullivan became the franchise win leader with his 253rd victory on Oct. 16, 2021, against the Chicago Blackhawks. In the 2021-22 home opener, the Penguins erupted for four first-period goals en route to a 5-2 win at PPG Paints Arena. 

Inside the Numbers: Mike Sullivan's Decade As Penguins Head CoachOn April 28, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they mutually parted ways with head coach Mike Sullivan. As the winningest coach in franchise history, it's a monumental day for the organization, which will begin its search for a new leader for the first time since 2015.

Pittsburgh got goals from Brock McGinn, Drew O'Connor, Teddy Blueger, Danton Heinen, and Jason Zucker. Both McGinn and O'Connor had two points, while Jarry made 18 saves in the win. Interestingly, Fleury took the loss for the Blackhawks, giving up four goals in just 11:25 before being pulled.

Win #300 - Oct. 20, 2022 vs. Los Angeles Kings (6-1)

Jeff Petry scored a goal and had two helpers to help the Penguins defeat the Los Angeles Kings at PPG Paints Arena on Oct. 20, 2022, to get Sullivan his 300th win. In the highest-scoring milestone victory of his coaching career, Pittsburgh also got goals from Jeff Carter, Jake Guentzel, Ryan Poehling, Rickard Rakell, and Jan Rutta. Once again, Jarry earned the win, making 39 saves. 

Win #400 - Mar. 9, 2025 vs. Minnesota Wild (3-1)

In one of the final matchups between the Penguins and their former goalie Fleury, now with the Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh won 3-1 thanks to Crosby's two goals, giving Sullivan his 400th win as head coach. Of course, Malkin had the other Penguins goal as Jarry led the way with 29 saves. 

In the wake of Canada's federal election on Monday, there is going to be continued speculation about the relationship between Canadians and Americans. However, one thing is pretty clear -- the tensions between political leaders is unlikely to affect the time-honored, stress-tested connection between Buffalo hockey fans and their Canadian counterparts. 

The truth is, for as long as the Sabres have been around -- and well before it -- there have been scores of Buffalonians and Western New Yorkers who've loved hockey. And if Toronto Maple Leafs tickets weren't so exorbitant , we'd be seeing many Buffalonian traveling to Toronto to see the Buffalo Sabres play, the same way many Torontonians and Southern Ontario residents make the trip to Buffalo when the Maple Leafs play there. And nothing that happens politically is going to change that.

The Leafs consistently bring out hundreds, if not thousands of their fans to games no matter where they play. It's a result of being an Original Six team, it's a result of a team being from Canada's largest city, and it's a result of the tribal pride people have in the Blue & White. And having the ability to take a brief ride down the Queen Elizabeth Way to convene with their fellow Leafs supporters is a luxury Leafs fans aren't going to give up anytime soon. 

Even with the punishing current exchange rate for the American dollar, Canadian Leafs fans can rest assured ticket prices for Leafs/Sabres games in Buffalo are far cheaper than they are for games in Toronto. And so you're going to continue to see Torontonians at the rink in Buffalo for the foreseeable future. It makes financial sense for Leafs fans to travel for an hour or so, and let's face it -- those trips are one of the ways Leafs fans deepen their bond with one another. (And the way Toronto traffic has devolved, it can take you an hour to travel from one part of the city to another, so the journey to Buffalo might wind up being about as long as it is between Point A and Point B in Toronto.)

Sabres Facing An Off-Season Of ChangeThe Buffalo Sabres, at their season-ending press availability, were all singing from the same hymn book, and the song was Bruce Hornsby’s “Gonna Be Some Changes Made”. The questions that will be utmost in the minds of a frustrated fanbase will be what kind of changes, and in the end, will those changes have the desired effect of ending the club’s 14-year playoff drought. 

But really, sharing an appreciation for the sport of hockey will always bond together people from countries around the world. And that's one of the reasons why the connection between Torontonians and Buffalonians is so strong. We're linked by geography and weather patterns, and a history that has included a terrific rivalry between our NHL teams. That's why Toronto has its share of Buffalo Bills fans, and that's why Buffalo has its share of Toronto Blue Jays fans. We're all going to root for one another to some degree, and that's always going to stay the same, no matter what obstacles are put before us.

So if you've got any anxieties about the connection between Canadians and Americans in the Buffalo/Toronto region, lay them to rest. We're all good friends here, we all appreciate the best sport there is, and it's going to stay that way for as long as there are pucks and sticks to go around.

The Florida Panthers picked up a massive win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4. With this, the Panthers extended their series lead to 3-1 and now need only one more victory to advance to the second round.

The Panthers' win was undoubtedly well-earned, as the reigning Stanley Cup champions scored three unanswered goals late in the third to defeat the Lightning by a 4-2 final score. This included goals from Panthers defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones just 11 seconds apart with less than four minutes remaining in the contest.

The Panthers worked incredibly hard to pick up this impressive comeback win, and veteran forward Brad Marchand dove into why it was possible.

"Belief is a dangerous thing, and we had that," Marchand said. "You could feel it. I don't think that we're sitting there on the bench thinking we're going back to two-two. You know, we believe that we can make a play, and you know, you're one shot away at that time."

pic.twitter.com/LQzsvTVWyU

— x - Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) April 29, 2025

Marchand then added:

"It's a different ballgame if it's 5-1 with two minutes left, but one-goal game, crazy things happen, and we've all went been through it. You know, teams that have gone far and had success, you learn from these moments, and you learn in the regular season. You build the belief in your structure and what you have. Doesn't mean it's going to happen go our way, but it did tonight."

This is a great message from Marchand, and one that the Panthers should keep following as the post-season continues. Instead of losing hope when they were losing, the Panthers stayed positive and secured a major win in Game 4 because of it.

Machand had a solid performance for the Panthers in this matchup, too, as he recorded the primary assist on Anton Lundell's game-opening goal. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice also shouted out Marchand's positivity and leadership following the matchup, so No. 63's presence is undoubtedly being felt.

Recent Panthers News 

Comeback Cats strike Lightning, Panthers win Game 4 to take commanding series leadThe Comeback Cats made their first appearance of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday night in Sunrise. Panthers' Nate Schmidt Ties NHL Record With Hot Playoff StartThe Florida Panthers have had a fantastic start to the 2025 NHL playoffs. After defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning by a 6-2 final score in Game 1, the Panthers followed that up with a hard-fought 2-0 win over the Bolts in Game 2. With this, they are now heading back home for Games 3 and 4 with a 2-0 series lead.

1. There are a lot of Nervous Nellies out there worried about mean, tough and nasty postseason hockey. I've got news for them; that's what playoff hockey is all about.

2. The hissing and moaning over what are and are not  "dirty hits" is as old as the NHL. Repeat: THIS IS WHAT PLAYOFF HOCKEY IS ALL ABOUT.

3. About the dumbest thing I've seen on the internet is some schlemeel writing that Canadian hockey announcers put more emotion into their broadcasts  than their American counterparts.

Playoff Notes For Rangers Fans And Others1. When it comes to a pair of teams being even in a series the Oilers-Kings battle sure fills the bill. Edmonton's late comeback and OT winner last night could be a major demoralizer for LA.

4. By The Maven's standards, the Capitals should get it over with tonight and simply crush the Canadiens. 

5. If the Caps fail today, I'll begin worrying about the Habs actually winning the series.

6. Anyone surprised at the Stars' success so far should check The Hockey News' Yearbook. Dallas is picked to win The Stanley Cup - ahem, by beating New Jersey.

7. The injury-wracked Devils will be fortunate to stay alive tonight in Raleigh. After all, the Canes are kings of home ice advantage. 

8. I'm rooting very-very-very hard for a Senators win over the Leafs tonight. For that to happen, Linus Ullmark must come up bigger in goal. Much bigger!

9. For my money, the most interesting series pits the upstart Blues against Chevy's Jets. You have to love Jim Montgomery's coaching except that The Maven is at a loss to define how JM makes it work.

10. That said, I have to root for Winnipeg. Hey, the Jets have never won Stanley!