Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola was kicked out of Monday`s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and spent most of the third period off the ice.
Mikkola received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding Tampa Bay forward Zemgus Girgensons. This occurred only 19 seconds into the final period when Mikkola hit Girgensons into the end boards while he was already on the ice.
Although Girgensons seemed shaken, he was able to continue playing in the game.
This wasn`t the only contentious hit of the game. In the second period, Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad delivered a hard hit to the Lightning`s Brandon Hagel, who was injured and did not return. No penalty was called on Ekblad for this play.
