Before the Florida Panthers left for Finland, they completed a tidy three-game road trip through the state of New York.
Florida picked up victories against the New York Rangers and New York Islanders and headed north to Buffalo looking to complete the Empire State sweep.
Well, the Panthers did just that, skating to a resounding 5-2 victory over the host Sabres.
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Something that happened during the third period caught the attention of the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
With Florida ahead 3-2 and about seven minutes left in the game, Lundell carried the puck over Buffalo’s blue line while Dahlin attempted to check him.
As Lundell used his body to shield Dahlin from the puck, both players went down to one knee while continuing to move into the zone.
As Dahlin got back to his skates, he turned his body and forcefully swing his stick at Lundell, who was in the process of getting back on his skates.
Lundell was hit square across the face, but fortunately he was wearing a half-shied on his helmet, which took most of the blow.
Dahlin was given a two-minute minor for slashing, a power play that Florida ended up scoring on to help secure their win.
Less than a day later, the NHL announced that Dahlin would be fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for the play.
After playing two contentious games already this season, the Panthers and Sabres do not face each other again for several months.
We’ll see if the bad blood is still boiling when the division rivals face off in Sunrise in March.
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