Panthers’ Luostarinen ejected from game after hit on Hurricanes’ Blake

Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen had his Game 3 end early.

The centre received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding Carolina Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake.

The incident happened in the final minutes of the first period, as the two were skating hard into the Carolina zone. Blake appeared to slow down as he approached the boards when Luostarinen delivered the hit, sending the Hurricane into the boards head-first.

Blake remained down on the ice, appearing to be in visible pain as he was attended to by training staff. He was able to get up and skate off the ice on his own, but was suffering from a cut to the nose.

The call on the ice was a major penalty, which was upheld after review.

Luostarinen has played all 14 post-season games for the Panthers, with four goals and 13 points. He finished Saturday’s Eastern Conference Final match with 3:30 TOI.