The Department of Player Safety also determined that Tkachuk's hit was less forceful than the one delivered by Tampa Bay's Brandon Hagel on Florida captain Aleksander Barkov in Game 2, per Kaplan. Hagel’s hit resulted in a one-game suspension.

The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning series intensified on Saturday after a controversial hit involving Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk and Lightning's Jake Guentzel during Game 3. The Lightning earned a 5-1 victory at Amerant Bank Arena to cut Florida’s series lead to 2–1,

Florida Panthers superstar Matthew Tkachuk avoids discipline for a questionable hit against the Tampa Bay Lightning.