"Premeditated and dirty": Fans react to Panthers' Dmitry Kulikov's ejection for illegal head check on Conor Sheary

Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov faced fan backlash after receiving a match penalty for an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Conor Sheary on Saturday. The penalty not only nullified a Panthers goal but also resulted in Kulikov's ejection from the game.

Dmitry Kulikov's interference with Sheary led to a review by officials, culminating in the goal's disqualification and a five-minute major for the hit to the head.

Here's the video of the hit, revealing a direct impact to the head.

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice, with extensive experience since the mid-90s, expressed astonishment, citing it as a first-time occurrence.

“No. Never seen one of those,” Maurice said after the incident. “But that’s the beauty of the National Hockey League, they’ll always surprise you with something.”

Dmitry Kulikov's suspension history includes a four-game suspension in 2015 for a similar infraction against Tyler Seguin during his first Panthers tenure.

Fans voiced concerns on X (formerly Twitter) over the severity of Kulikov's actions and advocated for stricter penalties to deter future infractions.

Certain fans argued that Conor Sheary fell on his own, shifting blame onto the officials.

Florida will have a four-day break before their upcoming home game against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

Dmitry Kulikov's Match Penalty Overshadows Lightning's 5-3 Victory Against Panthers

Steven Stamkos set the tone early, giving the Lightning a 1-0 lead just 20 seconds into the first period as his pass rebounded off Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour's skate and found the net.

Michael Eyssimont doubled the lead at 13:21, capitalizing on a rebound from Sergei Bobrovsky's initial save. Darren Raddysh extended the Lightning's advantage to 3-0 at 3:02 of the second period with a well-placed shot from the right circle.

The Panthers seemed poised for a comeback when Josh Mahura appeared to narrow the gap to 3-1 shortly after. However, a video review revealed a match penalty against Dmitry Kulikov for an illegal hit, nullifying the goal.

Despite penaltie­s, Lightning capitalized on the 5-on-3 power play as Steven Stamkos scored with a one-timer for a 4-0 le­ad. But shortly afterwards, Brady Tkachuk ne­tted a short-handed goal to make it 4-1. Sam Reinhart the­n scored twice in the third, closing the­ gap to 4-3 for the Panthers.

Nikita Kucherov then sealed the victory for the Lightning with an empty-net goal at 18:28, securing the 5-3 final score.