Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad left last night’s chaotic preseason contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning early, after just 41 seconds of ice time . His removal from the game came just after Lightning forward Scott Sabourin – a longtime AHL bruiser – delivered a big hit ( and a punch to the head ) of Ekblad. There has been no further update on Ekblad’s status and whether he suffered an injury, though as preseason games between rivals this preseason have featured unusually intense physical play , it would be no surprise to learn Ekblad was removed from the game for precautionary reasons.

If his removal was indeed precautionary, it would appear such a move was a wise one by the Panthers. Yesterday’s game featured a whopping 312 penalty minutes and 16 ejections , w

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