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 forward will be eligible to play against the Lightning Monday in Game 4 of the first-round playoff series.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are doing their best to scrap their way back into their first round series against the Florida Panthers, but it’s not going to be easy to knock the defending champs out early.