Ekblad earns hearing for hit on Hagel, Mikkola fined

Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad will have a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety for his hit to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel in Monday night's Game 4.

Niko Mikkola, who was given given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Zemgus Girgenson, earned a $5,000 fine.

Ekblad hit Hagel with a forearm to the head and was not penalized.

Hagel left the contest after the hit and didn't return. The Lightning winger was suspended one game earlier in the series for interference on Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Game 4 was Ekblad's second contest after serving a 20-game ban for violating the league's performance enhancing substance policy.

Ekblad and Seth Jones scored 11 seconds apart late in the third period to spur a comeback victory for the Panthers. Florida leads the series 3-1 with Game 5 scheduled for Wednesday in Tampa Bay.