The Florida heat’s got nothing on the chaos brewing on the ice right now. The Battle of Florida is firing up with Brandon Hagel right at the center of it. Panthers, fresh off their Stanley Cup glory run, were ready to defend their crown, while the Lightning sneaked in as division runners-up, plotting a revenge story for the ages. With playoff dreams hanging by a thread, clutch performances are everything. And hey, with history between these two going back decades and the Panthers still holding bragging rights from last year’s playoff dust-up, you know this series is straight-up savage.

The Sunshine State rivalry has never been for the faint-hearted. Last year, the Panthers bulldozed the Lightning in 5 games, flipping the script after years of getting torched by Tampa. But let’s not forget—before that, the Lightning had owned this dance floor, sweeping the Panthers right out of the 2021-22 playoffs and flexing their own championship muscles. Fast-forward to now, the Panthers have nudged ahead in the playoff saga with 2-1 right now, but Round 2 is creeping in fast… and Brandon Hagel is catching all kinds of heat from Florida Panthers fans. So, with the Battle of Florida reaching a full boil, the real question is—why exactly are Panthers fans booing Brandon Hagel?

Colby Guy, the Florida Panthers writer for PucksAndPalms.com & @pbpost, even hopped on X to spill the tea, saying, “Panthers fans are booing Brandon Hagel whenever he gets the puck. Would imagine Matthew Tkachuk gets the same treatment in Tampa on Wednesday.” And honestly, with the way things have been going, no lies detected there. A few days ago, chaos exploded during Game 2 when Hagel absolutely leveled Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov with a nasty hit. That wrecking-ball moment knocked Barkov right out of the game and got Hagel slapped with a one-game suspension by the NHL Department of Player Safety.

Saturday’s Game 3 rolled around, and guess what? No Hagel in sight. The rivalry that’s already known for walking the tightrope between ‘physical’ and ‘somebody call 911’ just got even more feral. Now, if you thought that was the end of the madness—buckle up. Game 3 delivered a whole new dose of drama when Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk decided it was his turn to stir the pot. He spun around and delivered a brutal blindside hit on Jake Guentzel and the refs handed Tkachuk a five-minute major penalty right there, and the internet exploded, wondering if he’d get suspended too.

But here’s where it gets juicy: the league decided to let Tkachuk off the hook for Game 4. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, he skated free because he didn’t make head contact, the hit happened after Guentzel touched the puck, while Barkov was not in contact with the puck. Meanwhile, Tkachuk’s skating around like it’s just another Tuesday.

And even Florida’s Sam Bennett didn’t hold back after the win in Game 2, tossing a spicy lil’ quote that had the rivalry flames blazing. Chatting it up with team reporter Katie Engleson, he dropped the mic with, “Two teams that have played each other a lot in the playoffs, and that rivalry is just growing and growing. We just hate them more and more every time we play them, so it makes for good hockey.” Whew—pure playoff drama in one sentence. But plot twist—while the Cats are out there skating with vengeance in their veins, Tampa’s Brandon Hagel? Totally unbothered.

Brandon Hagel doesn’t care about the booing?

During the game buzz, a reporter threw a spicy question at NHL Tampa’s coach, asking, “So you welcome back Brandon Hagel tonight. It sounds like he’s getting booed every time he touches the puck. You know him well. How does he typically respond to that?” The coach didn’t even blink before coolly firing back, “Oh he doesn’t care. Hey listen again you know once these guys are on the ice I’m not so sure. It’s probably all white noise from all the guys.” Classic Hagel energy—skating through the noise like it’s just another Tuesday. And honestly, he’s not new to this kinda chaos either. Booing? He’s been involved in a similar situation before.

Flashback to February, when international rivalry between the USA and Canada was rekindled at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Fans there didn’t just boo a player—they booed the U.S. national anthem before the 4 Nations Face-Off game between Team USA and Canada in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on Canadian goods. Even after announcer Michel Lacroix pleaded in both French and English, “In the spirit of this great game that unites everyone that you kindly respect the anthems and the players that represent each country,” the crowd wasn’t having it.

Booing rained down as warrant officer David Grenon sang, echoing through the Bell Centre like a storm. And guess what? Just seconds into the game, Brandon Hagel got himself involved in a fist fight (one of three). His opponent? None other than Matthew Tkachuk. While the USA had the last laugh in the game as they registered a 3-1 victory over their rivals, the Championship game just days later saw Hagel and Co. beat them in a 3-2 overtime thriller. That happened after the audience at TD Garden had booed Chantal Kreviazuk’s rendition of O Canada despite the PA announcer’s request to refrain from doing so.

Now, coming back to the intra-state rivalry, do you think there will be boos on Wednesday as well as the series shift to the Amalie Arena? Let us know in the comments.