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Updated 2025 NHL Playoff Bracket, Schedule and Top Highlights from May 1

Julia Stumbaugh
May 1, 2025
Stanley Cup playoffs bracket as of May 1, 2025

Four series went to Game 6 on Thursday night as Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs continued.

The Toronto Maple Leafs started off the evening by moving on to the second round thanks to a late strike from Max Pacioretty.

Pacioretty's goal helped the Leafs eliminate the Ottawa Senators with a 4-2 win and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second time in three years.

Later that night, Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone batted a game-winning goal out of midair to eliminate the Minnesota Wild and send the Golden Knights to the second round.

Here's a look at the top highlights from Thursday, as well as what to expect as Round 1 action continues.

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Thursday Results and Remaining Schedule

Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Ottawa Senators 2 (TOR wins 4-2)

Vegas Golden Knights 3, Minnesota Wild 2 (VGK wins 4-2)

Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, 9:30 p.m. ET (DAL leads 3-2)

Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, 10 p.m. ET (EDM leads 3-2)

Friday Schedule

Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m. ET (WPG leads 3-2)

Thursday Highlights

Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Ottawa Senators 2

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After last season's first-round elimination by the Boston Bruins, the risk of a potential Game 7 led to a tense Thursday start for the Maple Leafs in Ottawa.

But it was Leafs captain Auston Matthews who eventually opened scoring on a power play late in the first period.

William Nylander then wired a shot past Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark to pad the Leafs' advantage in the second period.

Brady Tkachuk answered by tipping in a shot from Thomas Chabot to cut the deficit to one midway through the second.

A Senators power play had just expired when David Perron bounced in the tying goal off the back of Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz to tie the game with seven and a half minutes left on the clock.

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With the threat of overtime looming, Max Pacioretty put the Leafs back in front by scoring his first goal of the series with just over five minutes remaining in regulation.

Scott Laughton then bounced a potential put-away goal off the post, leading to a frantic last two minutes of 6-on-5 hockey before Nylander battled his way to the empty net.

The Leafs will next have to take on the Florida Panthers in their quest to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2002. The reigning Stanley Cup champions advanced to the second round for the fourth straight year on Wednesday after claiming a 6-3 Game 5 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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Vegas Golden Knights 3, Minnesota Wild 2

The Golden Knights are through to the second round for the first time since the team's 2023 Stanley Cup win.

Game 6 started out in Vegas' favor when Marco Rossi took an early high-sticking double-minor and Shea Theodore made the Wild pay with an opening power play goal.

Ryan Hartman tied things up for the Wild by beating the buzzer for the end of the first period.

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Late in the second period, Jack Eichel capitalized on a breakaway to put the Knights back on top.

Kirill Kaprizov took a tripping penalty with eight and a half minutes in regulation. The Wild successfully killed the penalty off, only to watch minutes later as Stone batted in a pass from Brayden McNabb.

Ryan Hartman later jammed a puck past Filip Gustavsson to put the Wild back within one shot of tying the game, but the Golden Knights survived a late empty-net flurry to close out the win and advance.

The Wild loss marked the final game of Marc-Andre Fleury's NHL career:

The Knights will now take on the winner of the first-round series between the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers. Connor McDavid and the Oilers will look to win a fourth straight game and advance to the second round on Thursday night.

Kings vs. Oilers Betting Odds, Player Props and Picks for May 1

Joe Tansey
May 1, 2025

The Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers put on a handful of stunning offensive displays in their NHL first-round series. 

Edmonton is known for its offense with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at the top of the stat sheet, but Los Angeles’ top forwards shouldn’t be discounted. 

The Kings proved at times during the series that they can push the pace, and they must do so again in Game 6 to keep their season alive.

Andrei Kuzmenko Over 0.5 Points (-115) 

Andrei Kuzmenko has tremendous odds to record a point compared to what his production typically is on the Kings’ top line.

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Kuzmenko is second on the Kings roster in series points with six and he’s recorded a point in three of five games. 

Kuzmenko has been a vital asset to Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar on the top line since he joined in a trade from Philadelphia. He had 10 points in nine April games and carried that form over into the postseason. 

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Los Angeles’ top line should be out on the ice at a high volume with the season on the line, which makes Kuzmenko a very intriguing bet. He’s also dangerous on the power play, where he’s scored all three of his goals in the series. 

Calvin Pickard Over 23.5 Saves (-110) 

The Kings are averaging 30.4 shots on goal per game. 

Calvin Pickard faced 94 of those attempts at the end of Game 2 and in his starts across Games 3-5. 

If the Kings shoot at their series average, Pickard will easily go over his saves prop. 

Pickard went over this number in two of his three starts. He had 24 denials in Game 3 and turned away 38 shots in Game 4. Thirty-one of those Game 4 saves came in regulation. 

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Over 6.5 (+110) 

Four of the five Kings-Oilers games went over 6.5 goals. 

The high shot volume on both sides likely contributes to that. The Kings’ 152 shots on goal for the series are nothing in comparison to Edmonton’s 182 series attempts on target. 

The Kings will push the pace, but don’t expect the Oilers to just sit back. Edmonton scored 11 goals on home ice in Games 3 and 4 and it would love to avoid a return trip to Los Angeles for Game 7.

Leon Draisaitl, Connor Hellebuyck, Nikita Kucherov Finalists for 2025 NHL Hart Trophy

Mike Chiari
May 1, 2025
Winnipeg Jets v Edmonton Oilers

The NHL named Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov as finalists for the 2024-25 Hart Memorial Trophy on Thursday.

Since 1924, the Hart Trophy has been given annually to the league's most valuable player with members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association voting on the honor.

Both Draisaitl and Kucherov are aiming to become two-time Hart Trophy winners, while Hellebuyck is in search of his first.

All three finalists can make a strong claim for league MVP honors, as each of them led the NHL in key categories during the regular season.

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Draisaitl, 29, has already secured the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's leading goal scorer this season with 52 tallies.

He also had 54 assists, giving him 106 points, which ranked third in the NHL despite missing 11 games.

Draisaitl is now a four-time 50-goal scorer and a six-time 100-point scorer. He won his first Hart Trophy in 2020, and he is guaranteed a top-10 finish in the Hart voting for the fifth time in his career.

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The 31-year-old Kucherov tied for the NHL lead with 84 assists and added 37 goals this season, giving him a league-high 121 points.

Kucherov has now won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading point scorer in back-to-back years, and he has earned that honor three times overall.

After finishing second to Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon in the Hart Trophy last season, Kucherov is in line to potentially win his second Hart Trophy overall and his first since 2019.

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It has been a decade since a non-forward last won the Hart Trophy, but Hellebuyck arguably has a better chance than any goalie or defenseman during that timeframe to end the drought.

The 31-year-old Hellebuyck led the NHL in goalie wins (47), goals-against average (2.01) and shutouts (eight) this season, and his .925 save percentage was second only to Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Anthony Stolarz, who posted a .926.

Hellebuyck, who is a virtual lock to win his second consecutive and third overall Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender, also led the way for the NHL's best team, as the Jets had a league-high 116 points during the regular season.

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Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens was the last goalie to win the Hart Trophy in 2015, and before him, another Habs goaltender in Jose Theodore was the last one to win it in 2002.

If Hellebuyck wins the Hart, he will be only the fourth different goalie to do so since the 1962-63 season.

While no official date has been announced yet, the NHL awards are typically handed out in June.

Updated 2025 NHL Playoff Bracket, Schedule and Top Highlights from April 30

Scott Polacek
Apr 30, 2025

Multiple seasons were on the line Wednesday in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Washington Capitals had an opportunity to close out their first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 after winning three of the first four, while the Florida Panthers had the opportunity to do the same to the Tampa Bay Lightning in their own Game 5.

While seasons were on the line in the Eastern Conference, the lone Western Conference game was to seize control of the series and break a deadlock.

The Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues split the first four games, and Wednesday's Game 5 was a chance for each team to move one win away from the second round.

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Here is a look at how it all unfolded.

Stanley Cup Playoff Results: Wednesday, April 30

Game 5: Washington Capitals def. Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 (WSH wins series 4-1)

Game 5: Florida Panthers def. Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-3 (FLA wins series 4-1)

Game 5: Winnipeg Jets def. St. Louis Blues, 5-3 (WPG leads 3-2)

Stanley Cup Playoff Schedule: Thursday, May 1

Game 6: Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m. ET (TOR leads 3-2)

Game 6: Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild, 7:30 p.m. ET (VGK leads 3-2)

Game 6: Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche, 9:30 p.m. ET (DAL leads 3-2)

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Game 6: Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers, 10 p.m. ET (EDM leads 3-2)

Washington Capitals def. Montreal Canadiens, 4-1

Washington saw an opportunity to advance to the second round on its home ice Wednesday and immediately seized it.

Alex Ovechkin set the tone when he scored the opening goal fewer than 10 minutes into the contest, and Jakob Chychrun pushed the lead to 2-0 just more than two minutes later.

The Capitals never looked back from there and got some insurance in the second period when Tom Wilson found the back of the net.

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Montreal's third-period goal from Emil Heineman did nothing but delay the inevitable thanks to a strong performance from the Capitals' defense. That unit prevented the visitors from creating too many dangerous scoring opportunities, and goaltender Logan Thompson was waiting when the Canadiens did attack.

Thompson saved 28 of the 29 shots he faced in an impressive performance.

Brandon Duhaime added an empty-netter just for good measure, and the Capitals can now turn their attention to the next round.

Florida Panthers def. Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-3

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If Florida's offense plays like it did Wednesday, the rest of the Eastern Conference could be in trouble.

The visitors poured in six goals while eliminating their in-state rival and consistently had an answer every time Tampa Bay built some momentum.

The Lightning started the scoring in the first period with a goal from Gage Goncalves only for Carter Verhaeghe and Anton Lundell to strike for the Panthers to take the lead. Even though Nick Paul and Jake Guentzel each scored tying goals for Tampa Bay as the game progressed, the pattern continued.

Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett scored in the second period for Florida, while Eetu Luostarinen provided the late insurance in the third period that the victors were looking for throughout the closing stretch.

Tampa Bay responded by pulling goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy early, but the Panthers made it pay for that with an empty-net goal from Sam Reinhart.

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It was a dominant performance and served as a warning to the rest of the teams in the field.

Winnipeg Jets def. St. Louis Blues, 5-3

It seemed like the Jets were in serious trouble when they lost two straight games in St. Louis by a combined nine goals.

It turns out, all they needed was a return home.

Winnipeg made sure the pattern of the home team winning every game in this series continued with an impressive overall showing. It got off to a quick start with first-period goals from Kyle Connor and Nino Niederreiter, bounced back from goals by Nathan Walker and Jimmy Snuggerud, and seized control for good in the second period.

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Dylan DeMelo broke a 2-2 tie with a wrist shot before Vladislav Namestnikov gave the Jets some breathing room with a goal shortly before the end of the second.

It was up to the defense from there, and it stood strong throughout the third period with the game on the line. It also helps having Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes, and the veteran consistently turned the Blues away in crunch time until Nathan Walker scored in the final minute.

But it was too late by then, as Adam Lowry had already all but iced it with an empty-netter in the closing stretch.

Utah Hockey Club Reportedly Could Reveal Nickname Before NHL Draft Amid Mammoth Buzz

Julia Stumbaugh
Apr 30, 2025
Utah Hockey Club v Montreal Canadiens

The Utah Hockey Club could reveal its new nickname ahead of the NHL draft on June 27, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

According to Wyshynski, an NHL source indicated the announcement could come "in late June."

The report comes days after fans noticed the Utah Hockey Club Youtube handle had been changed to @UtahMammoth.

The handle has since been removed, and Utah officials declined to confirm if the Mammoth is the team's future nickname, per Wyshynski.

The 2025 NHL draft will have a decentralized format for the first time, with each team gathered in their own home market, the league announced in March.

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Wyshynski noted this change could allow Utah to announce the name at a draft event in Salt Lake City.

The Utah Hockey Club announced ahead of its inaugural season that the club would play in 2024-25 under a temporary name and branding, and settle on a permanent identity ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Utah captain Clayton Keller indicated back in September that the franchise was leaning toward the nickname Yeti, but team owners Smith Entertainment Group dropped pursuit of the name after running into trademark issues with the cooler brand.

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SEG executive Mike Maughan told the Salt Lake Tribune's Belle Fraser in January the team had needed to move on because of the extended timeline needed to produce new merchandise ahead of the 2025-26 season.

The franchise has held a series of fan votes surrounding potential names, most recently taking place at Delta Center over a four-game stretch in late January and early February. Fans in attendance were given the chance to vote between Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth and Utah Outlaws.

The club showed voting fans proposed branding alongside each name:

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Maughan said in January that Utah was "very confident" any of the final free names would clear the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The USPTO previously rejected other potential names including the Utah Blizzard and Utah Venom as well as the Utah Yeti, per KSL.com's Ryan Miller.

The NHL draft is set to begin on Friday, June 27. Utah is currently set to draft at No. 14 in the first round, although that number could change given the results of Monday's draft lottery.

Old Ghosts Continue to Haunt Maple Leafs as Senators Stay Alive 

Joe Yerdon
Apr 29, 2025
NHL: APR 29 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Senators at Maple Leafs
John Tavares

TORONTO—A franchise's history doesn’t dictate its future, but when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs and their playoff record, the past has a way of lingering that makes you wonder if they need a team exorcist.

The Maple Leafs had the opportunity to knock out the Ottawa Senators in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series at home and prepare for a second-round date with the Tampa Bay Lightning or Florida Panthers.

Instead, the Senators took home a 4-0 win to force Game 6 back in Ottawa on Thursday and reintroduce the current Maple Leafs to the wicked spirits that undid Stanley Cup dreams of recent years past.

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“We’re up 3-2 in the series, so I think we’re fine,” Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev said. “We’re going to prepare for our game Thursday, and we’ll make the adjustments that we need to.”

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The looming dread that surrounds the team from the fan base and certainly from opposing fans and everyone else around hockey isn’t something a new-to-the-Maple-Leafs guy like Tanev cares about or maybe is even aware of. But it’s there and trying to keep that and the past out of their collective headspace gets a lot harder when history, very recent history, is so hard to forget.

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Not being able to put away a team when they’ve had the opportunity has been an unfortunate staple for the Maple Leafs since Auston Matthews arrived. They’re 1-13 in potential elimination games, which is a deeply negative statistic. If there’s a silver lining to that horrendous record, the one win came in 2023 in Game 6 against the Lightning that finally got the “haven’t gotten out of the first round since 2004” monkey off their back.

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Leafs players have been unwaveringly confident about their talent and who they are all along, and that much hasn’t changed now. Even after past playoff disappointments when the question of whether or not they should break up their “Big Four” of Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares, their confidence in who they are and what they can do has been strong despite the repetitive results.

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“It’s not supposed to be easy,” Marner said. “This is never supposed to be easy, so we knew it was going to be a challenge. We knew it was never going to be easy. They pushed back the last two games and now we’ve got to go back into their building and play our best game and we’ve been a great road team all year. We have confidence in this group.”

The Leafs have been road warriors this season, and their 25-13-3 record proves that. The flipside of that is how good the Senators have been at home. Ottawa went 27-11-3 at Canadian Tire Center in the regular season and staved off elimination there in Game 4 with a 4-3 overtime win.

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With how raucous the home crowd was in Games 3 and 4, with the Leafs coming back to Ottawa now with pressure firmly in place, it’s a less-than-ideal setting for Toronto to try and stave off what would be a deeply foreboding Game 7 on Saturday.

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“I expect pure insanity, that’s for sure,” Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said. “(The fans) know how important they are. They know how much juice they give us and how we just want to represent them well. When they’re buzzing like that, I can’t really describe yet how it feels for me and how it feels for this whole group and just the amount of energy we get off that.”

The playoffs aren’t meant to be easy, but the Leafs have been experts at making them difficult for themselves. Their effort in Game 5 was eerily familiar to past potential put-away games. The emotion wasn’t there, the desire to get to the net was lacking, the mistakes piled up, and when there were chances, Linus Ullmark snuffed them out and made 29 saves for his first career playoff shutout.

Even though the Senators are the team down in the series, momentum is on their side. The shadows and specters of Toronto’s past playoff failures are there to support it, too.

“You can feel great about yourself, or you can feel (crappy) about yourself as well, or the team or where you’re at,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “Those are the types of things we will talk to our team throughout the season. I think it’s paying dividends now, but again, we’ve won two games. We’re going to enjoy it now for a couple of hours and tomorrow reset. We’re going to have to play our (butts) off and play better in Game 6 to get another game down here.”

Back in 2013, the Maple Leafs infamously blew a 4-1 lead in Game 7 to the Boston Bruins before losing 5-4 in overtime. No one from that Leafs team has a role with the current team, but the last thing they want to do is create their haunting to replace, “It was 4-1…” in everyone’s memory.

“I think everybody’s fine in here,” Matthews said. “The playoffs, it’s a rollercoaster. It’s going to be ups and downs and it’s about staying as even-keeled as you possibly can and making adjustments when you need to. (It’s) just about everybody digging in, looking in the mirror and just being a little bit better.”

Updated 2025 NHL Playoff Bracket, Schedule and Top Highlights from April 29

Scott Polacek
Apr 29, 2025
2025 NHL Playoff Bracket as of April 29.

Tuesday had the set up to be a day to remember in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.

In the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes had an opportunity to close out the New Jersey Devils in five games, while the Toronto Maple Leafs had the chance to do the same to the Ottawa Senators.

As for the Western Conference, the two Game 5s represented swing contests with the series between the Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights, as well as the one between the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings, tied at two games apiece.

Here is how it all unfolded.

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Stanley Cup Playoff Results: Tuesday, April 29

Game 5: Ottawa Senators def. Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-0 (TOR leads 3-2)

Game 5: Carolina Hurricanes def. New Jersey Devils, 5-4 2OT (CAR wins 4-1)

Game 5: Vegas Golden Knights def. Minnesota Wild, 3-2 OT (VGK lead 3-2)

Game  5: Edmonton Oilers def. Los Angeles Kings, 3-1 (EDM leads 3-2)

Stanley Cup Playoff Schedule: Wednesday, April 30

Game 5: Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET (WAS leads 3-1)

Game 5: Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:30 p.m. ET (FLA leads 3-1)

Game 5: St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets, 9:30 p.m. ET (series tied at 2)

Ottawa Senators Def. Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-0

Ottawa isn't done just yet.

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While Toronto had a golden opportunity to close the series out at home, Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark had other ideas. He stopped all 29 shots he faced, frustrating an offensive attack that features plenty of star power.

With Ullmark playing at that level, the Senators didn't need much goal support to escape with a road win.

They didn't get any until the second period when Thomas Chabot finally broke the scoreless tie. That alone would have been enough, but the visitors dominated play in the third period with Dylan Cozens burying a slap shot and Tim Stützle, who also had an assist, putting the exclamation point on the victory with another goal in the final minutes.

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Brady Tkachuk scored an empty-netter in the last minute for good measure and also notched two assists in the winning effort.

Still, the story was Ullmark. If he continues to play at such a level, the Senators will have an opportunity to force a decisive Game 7.

Carolina Hurricanes Def. New Jersey Devils, 5-4 2OT

The day's second game had far more drama, although it didn't look like it would at first.

After all, New Jersey jumped out to a commanding 3-0 lead in the first period with goals from Dawson Mercer, Timo Meier and Stefan Noesen. It seemed like the visitors were going to preserve their season on the road much in the same way as Ottawa did.

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Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake and Andrei Svechnikov all scored for Carolina in the first six minutes of the second period. That comeback theme continued even after Nico Hischier answered with a goal to put the Devils back ahead 4-3, as Sebastian Aho buried one in the back of the net to tie the game at four heading to the decisive third period.

Both goaltenders (Jacob Markstrom for New Jersey and Pyotr Kochetkov for Carolina) remained in the game despite the onslaught of goals, which seemed to be a good decision as the defenses finally stood strong throughout the third period.

The end result of that stalemate in the third period was overtime and an opportunity for everyone on the ice to play the role of hero, but Markstrom continued to impress in the extra period to force a second.

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Aho ultimately broke through, though, scoring the game-winner during a four-minute power play to end the series.

Vegas Golden Knights Def. Minnesota Wild, 3-2 OT

Tuesday wasn't done with overtime.

The back-and-forth series between the Golden Knights and Wild fittingly featured a number of momentum swings in Game 5 until Brett Howden buried a goal in the extra period to move Vegas one win away from advancing.

Howden's moment came after it seemed like Ryan Hartman scored the game-winner for the Wild in the final two minutes of regulation. However, the goal was overturned because of an offside call following a Vegas challenge.

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That gave the Golden Knights new life after they initially set the tone with first-period goals from William Karlsson and Mark Stone. Kirill Kaprizov scored for Minnesota during that opening period as well, which was important to keep the visitors within striking distance.

Marc-André Fleury also kept them within striking distance as the game unfolded. The veteran goaltender entered the game after Filip Gustavsson left because of an illness and then turned away every scoring opportunity he faced in regulation.

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With Fleury and the Minnesota defense doing their collective job, Matt Boldy scored the equalizer in the third period that eventually sent the game to overtime after Hartman's goal was disallowed.

But it was Howden who came through in the biggest moment.

Edmonton Oilers Def. Los Angeles Kings, 3-1

Home-ice advantage belongs to Edmonton.

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The Oilers became the first road team to win in this series thanks to impressive goaltending and defending to go with timely late goals. It seemed like Los Angeles would continue the pattern of home teams winning when Andrei Kuzmenko opened the scoring in the second period, but that was the only offense it generated.

Evander Kane quickly answered with a goal in the second period before Mattias Janmark found the back of the net for what proved to be the game-winner in the third.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored an empty-netter to clinch the victory, which felt fitting since Edmonton controlled much of play and created the majority of the chances. Los Angeles goaltender Darcy Kuemper did what he could with 43 saves on 45 shots, but it wasn't enough.

Unfortunately for the Kings, they were unable to figure out goaltender Calvin Pickard on the other side when it mattered most. He turned away 21 of the 22 shots he faced and prevented some late scoring chances.

That cleared the way for Nugent-Hopkins to ice it with the late goal.

Panthers' Aaron Ekblad Suspended 2 Games for Elbowing Lightning's Brandon Hagel

Andrew Peters
Apr 29, 2025
Tampa Bay Lightning v Florida Panthers - Game Four

As the Florida Panthers look to seal a win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the NHL playoffs, they'll have to do so without a key defenseman.

NHL Player Safety announced Tuesday that Aaron Ekblad has been suspended for two games for elbowing Lightning forward Brandon Hagel in the head during Monday's game.

In the third period of Florida's 4-2 win on Monday, Ekblad skated into Hagel and elbowed him in the head as Hagel tried to make a play on the puck. Hagel's head hit the ice, and he was removed from the game because of concussion concerns.

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Ekblad was not penalized for the hit and remained in the game, later scoring a game-tying goal with just over three minutes to play. Seth Jones scored what would be the game-winning goal less than a minute later.

Per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, Ekblad met with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Tuesday for a hearing regarding the hit. Even before the suspension, the Panthers were preparing to be without Ekblad.

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“We’ve been through it with Aaron out,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said, per The Athletic's Josh Yohe. “Let’s assume he’s out of the lineup. If he’s not, we’ll go with what we’ve got.”

Hagel, who already missed part of the series after being suspended for a hit against Aleksander Barkov, will not play in Game 5.

"He's not playing tomorrow. And you know why," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said, per Wyshynski.

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Ekblad's suspension marks what has been a rocky stretch for him recently. Before the postseason, he served a 20-game suspension for violating the league's Performance Enhancing Substances Program.

The Panthers hold a 3-1 lead over the Lightning and will look to end the series with a win on Wednesday. Ekblad will miss Game 4 and either Game 5 of the first round or Game 1 of the second round series, which will be against either the Toronto Maple Leafs or Ottawa Senators.

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