NHL fans react to Brandon Hagel's massive hit on Aleksander Barkov: "Dirty, unnecessary, intent to injure" 

NHL fans reacted strongly online to Brandon Hagel's massive hit on Aleksander Barkov during Game 2 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

The incident occurred midway through the third period when Barkov was trying to retrieve the puck from Ryan McDonagh. Hagel came in and delivered a huge check on Barkov, even though the Finn did not have possession of the puck.

Hagel was subsequently handed a 5-minute major penalty for interference on the play. The call was upheld after a review, and Aleksander Barkov went down the tunnel and did not return to the game.

Fans were quick to voice their reactions to Hagel's hit on Barkov, with one fan tweeting on X/Twitter:

“Right call. Dirty, unnecessary, intent to injure. Checks all those boxes. Really bad hit.”

Another fan wrote:

"Should be suspended…"

Here are some more reactions from fans on X:

"Scumbag. Should have gotten a game misconduct. Suspension 7 games minimum," one fan wrote.

"That should be at MOST two minutes. stays on his feet, drives through the chest. just an unfortunate spot to where Barkov flies into the boards," another fan said.

"And he jumped which is against the rules. The player didn't have the puck, he aimed for his head AND he jumped," one fan commented.

"Shoulder to shoulder but didn't have puck so a interference call? The only issue I see is Barkov not having the puck. Should have been 2 minutes," another fan wrote.

The Panthers ended up winning the game 2-0 with goals from Sam Bennett and Nate Schmidt. Sergei Bobrovsky recorded a 19-save shutout on the night, while Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves in the loss for Tampa.

Aleksander Barkov and Panthers win 2-0 against Lightning

Jake Guentzel had a golden chance just 53 seconds into the game for the Lightning, but his shot toward an open net sailed over the crossbar.

A little over a minute later, at 1:52 of the first, Brayden Point found himself with a point-blank opportunity for Tampa Bay but missed badly, firing high and wide to the left of the open net.

The Panthers capitalized soon after. At 4:15 of the opening period, Schmidt ripped a one-timer from above the right circle that beat Vasilevskiy to the far side to give Florida a 1-0 lead.

Late in the third, at 16:33, Bobrovsky came up big again, flashing the glove to stop a slap shot from J.J. Moser, who had a clear look from the right circle.

Sam Bennett sealed the deal with an empty-netter at 19:56 of the third, locking in the Panthers' 2-0 victory.