Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk will not face additional punishment from the NHL following his ejection in Game 3. According to reports, Tkachuk will not have a hearing or be issued any supplemental discipline for his hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel Saturday night.
The reasoning behind the NHL`s Department of Player Safety`s decision was detailed by Elliotte Friedman. He stated that the impact of the hit was not considered to be as severe as the one delivered by Brandon Hagel on Aleksander Barkov. Key factors included the absence of head contact and the fact that Guentzel had touched the puck prior to the hit.
During the final minutes of Game 3, the Panthers forward was assessed a major penalty for the play and ejected from the game.
The hit occurred precisely as Guentzel was involved in the sequence leading to Anthony Cirelli`s empty-net goal, which extended the Lightning`s lead to 5-1 with five minutes left on the clock.
Despite receiving the hit, Guentzel remained in the game after his teammates confronted Tkachuk. Following the game, the Lightning forward expressed his hope that the NHL would review the hit and potentially consider disciplinary action against Tkachuk.
`I passed the puck and it felt like a long time after I got hit,` Guentzel said. `I`m sure the league`s going to take a look at it. We know the history of what`s happened the last couple games. I`m sure they`ll do their job.`
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