Panthers’ Will Lockwood suspended three games for hit on Wild’s Marc-Andre Fleury

The verdict has been reached on one of the young players in the Florida Panthers’ lineup.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Saturday that Panthers forward Will Lockwood has been suspended three games for hitting Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

The incident happened early in the first period on Friday night. Fleury was playing the puck behind his own goal, when Lockwood came by on the forecheck. The former Michigan Wolverines caught the netminder with a high hit, sparking a brief melee that saw Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian go after Lockwood.

Fleury quickly got up and wanted to join the scuffle, but cooler heads eventually prevailed.

Lockwood received a minor penalty for interference for the hit on Fleury, and a roughing call for his altercation with Bogosian. Lockwood ended up fighting Brandon Duhaime shortly after returning to the ice.

Fleury did continue to play, but came out of the game just past the halfway mark of the second period, and did not return. Filip Gustavsson came in, and managed to help Minnesota hang on for a 6-4 win.

While the Wild have not made it clear where Fleury was exactly injured, citing it as an upper-body injury, at first glance, a concussion is a concern for the 39-year-old. He has had concussion problems in the past, including suffering one early in the Vegas Golden Knights’ inaugural season.

Fleury also had a couple of concussion-related injuries while with the Pittsburgh Penguins, including one late in the 2015-16 season that opened the door for Matt Murray to step in and lead the team to a Stanley Cup.

“Flower” is just a few days removed from surpassing his childhood idol, Patrick Roy, for second all-time in NHL wins (552). So far, the three-time Cup champion is 8-9-3 on the campaign, with a 2.95 goals-against average and .897 save percentage with one shutout.

This is the first time Lockwood has faced supplemental discipline in his NHL career. The former Vancouver Canuck has registered just one assist in 23 games this season, with two assists to his name in 51 career games.

The earliest Lockwood can return to the lineup is when the Cats face the New York Islanders on Jan. 27.

The Wild (19-21-5) are set to take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. They are seventh in the Central Division, 14 points back of the third-place Dallas Stars, and seven behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

Florida (27-14-4) is next going to be facing the Nashville Predators on Monday. They sit second in the Atlantic Division, six points ahead of the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs and five back of the Boston Bruins for first.