Lightning’s Scott Sabourin suspended four games for roughing Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad

Some repercussions follow the final day of the preseason.

On Monday, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Tampa Bay Lightning forward Scott Sabourin has been suspended for four games for roughing against Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad.

The incident occurred during the final preseason edition of The Battle of Florida. Early in the first period, Sabourin laid a hit on Ekblad in the Panthers’ zone. The perennial minor-leaguer then proceeded to punch Ekblad in the head before dropping the gloves against an unwilling combatant.

Sabourin received a match penalty for roughing. It kicked off what was a very chipping game between the two rivals. While the defending Stanley Cup champions went on to win the game 7-0, it was far from the story everyone was talking about.

In a game that took over three hours, Tampa and Florida combined for 322 penalty minutes. By the time the game was over, 16 players had been tossed out of the game, with just three players from the Lightning remaining on the bench.

Sabourin wasn’t the only player who had a hearing for his actions in relation to Saturday’s game. Lightning defender J.J. Moser also had a hearing for his boarding penalty on Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist. Tampa’s Roman Schmidt and Gage Goncalves both received fines in the game as well.

“The two Florida teams have had a lot of success in this league the last six years,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said afterward. “And I think anybody that’s been a part of this rivalry would probably look at this box score and not be surprised and be like, I can’t believe it’s taken this long for something like that to happen.  It’s two extremely proud franchises and the boys played with their heart on their sleeves. That’s all I can say.”

It was the second time in a week that the Lightning and Panthers went after each other. On Thursday, the two teams finished with a combined 186 penalty minutes.