NHL Fans Think Panthers Star Got Away With Dirty Hit in Game 1 vs. Hurricanes

Karl Rasmussen | May 21, 2025

Carolina Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake scores a goal against the Florida Panthers but takes a late hit from Aaron Ekblad. / Screenshot via Sportsnet on X

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers was a tense showdown that featured plenty of extracurriculars on the ice.

Much of the attention was fixated on the skirmish between Brad Marchand and Shayne Gostisbehere, but there were some other cheap shots exchanged throughout the game.

One play in particular stood out among some fans. Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad was seen delivering a rather vicious elbow straight to the head of an unsuspecting Jackson Blake, though Ekblad was not issued a penalty for the incident.

Have a look at the contentious play below:

That Ekblad forearm is at it again pic.twitter.com/Bus9tbI8yn

— Shayna (@shaynagoldman_) May 21, 2025

Blake had just scored Carolina's second goal of the game after getting a puck past Bobrovsky. Ekblad came flying in moments later and skated straight into Blake, while catching him in the face with his forearm. Blake was able to get to his feet under his own power, but he looked miffed about the incident and the lack of a penalty call from officials.

It's not the first time this postseason Ekblad has delivered a questionable and dirty hit, and as such, fans had plenty to say about it on social media in the aftermath.

Aaron Ekblad with yet another late cheap elbow to someone's head

— Lightning Insider (@Erik_Erlendsson) May 21, 2025

Blatant shot right to the head.. becoming a habit for Ekblad. Garbage https://t.co/ua6fp9w0px

— NHL Review (@nhl_review) May 21, 2025

It blows my mind how Ekblad hasn’t been banned from every playing hockey again pic.twitter.com/J9GxJERh3l

— ehJ (@itsehJ_) May 21, 2025

Shocker: Aaron Ekblad just threw another forearm, this time to the back of Jackson Blake’s head after scoring lol.

All he knows is to lead with his forearm when trying to hit people…#RaiseUp #TimeToHunt

— Joseph Zita (@josephdzita) May 21, 2025

Was Trouba reincarnated in Ekblad’s forearm

— Petrov McGuire (@McguirePetrov) May 21, 2025

Aaron Ekblad is out there to injure people. It's plain as day.

— Félix Sicard (@Felix_Sicard) May 21, 2025

Another forearm shiver by Ekblad to the head. That’s what… five or six this playoffs? #TimeToHunt #RaiseUp

— NHLwookiee (@NHLwookiee) May 21, 2025

That's not to say there weren't cheap shots thrown from Carolina, too. Earlier in the game, Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov appeared to intentionally skate into Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and clipped him with a knee to the head.

Neither team was shying away from playing physically in Tuesday night's clash, which could set the tone for what figures to be a hard-fought series.

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