Aaron Ekblad and his Florida Panthers are just living their best playoff life right now, or are they? After Tampa snatched that last matchup and made it a 2-1 series, Florida came storming back, refusing to let the Lightning crash their party. Monday night at the Amerant Bank Arena was pure chaos—in the best way. Ekblad and Seth Jones went full-on savage mode, scoring just 11 seconds apart late in the third, flipping the whole vibe. Florida snagged the 4-2 dub, pushing the series to 3-1. And now?

Game 5’s about to head back to Tampa on Wednesday, and it’s shaping up to be spicy. Panthers’ stars like Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe got their shine too, while Sergei Bobrovsky locked it down in goal with 18 big saves. Tampa tried to answer back with goals from Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak, and even Andrei Vasilevskiy did his best to weather the storm with 19 saves, but the Cats were just too locked in.

The night wasn’t all smooth skating, though—emotions were flying high. Florida first struck in the second when Lundell netted his first of the series, but Tampa came swinging back, banging in two goals in just 11 seconds like it was nothing. Still, when it mattered most, Ekblad pounced on a juicy rebound to tie it, and Jones’ point shot—with a little lucky bounce—gave Florida the lead. Verhaeghe wrapped things up with an empty-netter that sealed Tampa’s fate. But the drama didn’t stop there. Brandon Hagel had to dip out mid-game after a rough hit from Ekblad, and to make the chaos even messier, Florida’s Niko Mikkola got tossed early in the third for boarding. Now the hockey streets are buzzing loud—people are already calling for Aaron Ekblad to face suspension, wondering if Hagel’s playoffs run might be cut short again.

Sportsnet dropped a video from the panel, and honestly, it was straight-up spicy. One of the hosts set the whole tone, saying, “Back in Game 2, Brandon Hagel, the one game suspension following this late hit on Alexander Barkov. The captain goes down, temporarily had to leave this game, did play in Game 3. Hagel suspended for Game 3. So you knew we’d have a target on his back and the bad blood boiled over tonight, courtesy of Aaron Ekblad.” No sugarcoating at all.

Then the other host chimed in, keeping it real: “Yeah, and you know, we said before the game that these teams are professionals and the shenanigans, it’s time to win games. He takes a run at Hagel. We know they’ve got Hagel on the mind and they want to get a piece of him.” And boy, did it show — things got ugly real quick out there. Meanwhile, fans were lighting up social media like fireworks. One fan just dropped it straight, no filter: “That’s a suspension…” And honestly? They’re not reaching. Because Aaron Ekblad’s name’s already been stirring the pot earlier this year.

Flashback to when the NHL announced that Aaron Ekblad was suspended for 20 games, without pay, for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. Huge news. And under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, the suspension is accompanied by a mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation and possible treatment. But this was just the tip of the iceberg!

Fans furious over Aaron Ekblad’s hit!

As the drama kept swirling like a stormy puck on ice, another fan jumped into the chaos, tossing out, “Another 20 games right?” After all, we have been down this road before. Aaron Ekblad himself had to face the music not too long ago. When his 20-game suspension hit the headlines, Ekblad dropped a heartfelt statement through the NHLPA, owning up to his misstep. “As the NHL announced, I have been suspended for violating the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. The news that I had failed a random drug test was a shock,” he said. “Ultimately, I made a mistake by taking something to help me recover from recent injuries without first checking with proper medical and team personnel.”

The man didn’t shy away from the weight of it all, either. He went on, “I have let my teammates, the Panthers organization and our great fans down. For that, I am truly sorry. I have accepted responsibility for my mistake and will be fully prepared to return to my team when my suspension is over. I have learned a hard lesson and cannot wait to be back with my teammates.” Heavy words, right? But fans, being fans, weren’t letting up either. One couldn’t help but cheekily jab, saying, “He ‘should’ get game(s) for that. But it’s the dept of player ‘safety’ so who knows 🤷‍♂️.” Honestly, at this point, the Department of Player Safety feels more like a spin-the-wheel game show as per fans.

Another fan jumped into the buzzing chaos, throwing down, “Absolutely should be. I don’t understand how there’s no penalty on that play.” So here’s the scoop—Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel had a rough night during Game 4 against the Panthers. With less than nine minutes left in the second period, Hagel was just trying to move the puck out of the zone, minding his own business near the boards, when outta nowhere Aaron Ekblad came flying in, landing a heavy forearm hit straight to Hagel’s head. Down Hagel went, his head bouncing off the ice like a bad dream. Yet somehow, no whistle, no call, just… crickets from the refs. Tampa was trailing 1-0 at the time, but after Hagel left the game for concussion checks, Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak dropped two goals in 11 seconds, flipping the script real fast.

Now, just to add even more to the drama soup, Hagel had just returned to the lineup after serving a one-game suspension for laying out Florida’s Aleksander Barkov back in Game 2. As the teams rolled into the third period, Hagel was nowhere in sight, still getting evaluated, according to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Fans, already heated, didn’t hold back either, with one dropping the hammer saying, “Someone needs to lay his ass out. Blade side somewhat late hit. Maybe a bit high. It’s been set now these are not penalties.” Honestly, between the hits, the boos, and the wild rollercoaster of calls—or lack thereof—it’s basically a soap opera on ice at this point.