During an NHL game between the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators, every player on the ice received a 10-minute misconduct penalty, resulting in 13 players being ejected and 167 penalty minutes being handed out; the Panthers won the game 5-0.
‣ Game misconducts are common in NHL games, but a situation where every player on the ice receives one is rare. This occurred during a game between the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators.
‣ The game was particularly aggressive, with nearly a benches-clearing brawl in the second period and multiple players ejected for misconduct. A total of 13 players were ejected during the third period and 167 penalty minutes were handed out.
‣ Despite the chaotic game, the Panthers won 5-0. The Panthers’ coach, Paul Maurice, described the game as “fun” and “good for both teams”.
Game misconducts in NHL games are pretty common. However, every player on the ice receiving one is a different ball game altogether.
During the third period of a game between the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators, something unusual happened. Referee Garrett Rank announced that “every player on the ice has a 10-minute misconduct among other penalties.”
This happened midway through the third period. A scrum broke out when Senators star Brady Tkachuk crashed into Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. After the collision, several Panthers chased Tkachuk behind the net.
The game had been tense before this scrum. A near benches-clearing brawl had occurred towards the end of the second period. Early in the third period, Zack MacEwen, a Senators forward, was thrown out for hitting Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk in the head. Before that, Tkachuk had even fought with Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson.
With eight minutes left in the game, 10 players were shown the door. The Panthers lost five players, and the Senators lost five as well. “Just a hockey game,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice commented on the numerous misconducts. “You can’t play light in the game. Both teams want to win. You get a little snarly. That was fun. It’s good.”
The madness didn’t stop there. Panthers forward Sam Bennett and Senators forward Mathieu Joseph were also ejected. This happened about two minutes after the 10 misconduct penalties. When the dust settled, 13 players were ejected during the third period. A whopping 167 penalty minutes were handed out, with 151 of those coming in the third period.
In addition to the 12 game misconducts, 14 minor penalties were called. There was also a bench penalty and two fighting penalties. “That was mild,” Maurice added. “We only got to about 160-some minutes there. It’s got to get into the 250s before it gets too squirrelly. Sometimes hockey can get like that. That’s part of why the game’s so darn great because it’s graceful and beautiful and physical and angry all at the same time. It’s probably good for both team. You get to make it part of the story of your year.”
Despite the chaos, the Panthers won the game 5-0. They had a 4-0 advantage at the time of the initial scrum. Center Eetu Luostarinen added a goal at the 16:32 mark of the third period.
