Panthers Ryan Lomberg intentionally injures Jimmy Vesey, no call made
The Florida Panthers have been imposing their physical style on their opponents during this playoff run. They have been known to take those liberties too far on occasion but have always amazingly escaped any punishment.
During Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Panthers and New York Rangers once again went to war, with ninety three hits thrown between the two teams during the game. It was the Rangers who came out on top with a 2-1 victory in overtime. Barclay Goodrow ripped a shot just under the bar to beat Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
It wasn't all good news on the evening for the Rangers, they lost forward Jimmy Vesey during the second period after taking a viscous hit from Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg. Vesey was nowhere near the puck when Lomberg made contact. In the video below, you can see Lomberg make contact with Vesey's head using his own in the process. Somehow, there was no penalty on the play.
The Panthers players are well known to toe the line with their play and have escaped any punishment on multiple occasions during this playoff run. Take Sam Bennett's questionable hit on Bruins captain Brad Marchand as an example.
Marchand had a quote describing playoff hockey:
It seems the Panthers are using this as their slogan for their 2023-24 playoff run.
It's atrocious that Lomberg got away with this and it just shows how far the standard of officiating in the NHL has fallen
| POLL | ||
Do you believe the Panthers are receiving favouritism from the referees? | ||
| Yes, they are getting away with everything | 167 | 65.5 % |
| No, just a bunch of whiners | 88 | 34.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
