While the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers didn't rack up over 300 penalty minutes in their latest meeting, as they did during the pre-season, that doesn't mean that Monday's renewal of acquaintances came without incident.
Star Lightning forward Brandon Hagel left the game in the third period after appearing to take a Seth Jones elbow to the head and didn't return.
Hagel had logged 13:32 of ice time with two shots on goal before exiting what ended as a Panthers 5-2 victory.
Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper didn't have an update on his assistant captain's status when he spoke to reporters post-game.
It's not the first time Hagel has been victimized by a questionable Panthers hit, as he was forced to exit a different pre-season game after being cross-checked by A.J. Greer, who was fined for the play.
Hagel also suffered a concussion during last spring's Stanley Cup Playoffs after taking a hit from Aaron Ekblad, which drew the Panthers defenceman a two-game suspension.
Ekblad's elbow came after Hagel returned to the ice from a suspension of his own in the series. The Tampa forward was given a one-game punishment for laying a hit on Aleksander Barkov that left the Panthers captain injured. Barkov, however, returned to action for Game 3 of the series.
After a 90-point 2024-25, Hagel has continued to score at a torrid pace this season. He entered Monday's game with 18 goals, 31 points and a plus-19 rating in 31 games.
If Hagel ends up being all right from Monday's hit, he won't have to wait long to see the Panthers again. Tampa Bay will head to Sunrise on Dec. 27 to write the next chapter in this budding Florida rivalry.
