Florida Panthers Teammates Get Honest About Aleksander Barkov’s Huge Fight Against Toronto Maple Leafs: ‘Gotta Be Aware’

The Florida Panthers have been riding a heater lately, and yeah, that 2-0 shutout against the Leafs in Game 4, with Sergei Bobrovsky casually stacking 23 saves like it was nothing, was sweet. But the real scene-stealer? That wild final-seconds chaos when captain Aleksander Barkov got absolutely rocked by Max Domi. We’re talking straight-up blindsided. Domi came in hot, nailed Barkov from behind, and sent him crashing headfirst into the boards. Penalty? Oh yeah, Domi got dinged for boarding. And naturally, that hit cranked up the heat, sparking a few scrums as both squads threw down some extra spicy postseason energy.

Even though Coach Paul Maurice said Barkov was “all right” and expected to bounce back, you could tell there was a storm brewing under those calm words. Maurice added, “I think that the league looks at those things very closely, especially at that point in the game. That’s their job.” And yep, he’s leaving it in the NHL’s hands, but fans? Teammates? They’re still simmering. And now, the Florida Panthers’ locker room isn’t holding back their thoughts too!

In a press moment shared by the Florida Panthers, one journalist straight-up tossed a double-decker question at the squad, “How are you guys continuing to like you know be able to hold them down especially in crucial moments like in the third period and then also Max only got fined $5,000 you know on Barkie’s hit. Do you guys have any comment on that as well of what happened with that at the end of the game?” Yeah, they went there. And guess who stepped up to the mic with some cool-headed playoff poise? Anton Lundell.

With a chill but fire-in-his-veins kind of vibe, Lundell kept it classy, saying, “I just think you know it’s been a physical series you know we hit they hit it’s part of the game part of playoffs so you gotta you know be aware of all times on the ice but at the same time you know it’s awesome it’s great to play playoff hockey and you know whenever it’s at the biggest you know that’s where we like to play you know when it really matters the games.” Translation? This ain’t no tea party, it’s playoff warfare, and the Florida Panthers aren’t here to cry about it.

This story is developing…

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