FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The NHL has suspended TAMPA BAY Lightning Scott Sabourin Four for his actions in the team’s finale against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.
The NHL ruling, filed Monday, means Sabourin will lose $16,145.84 — or roughly $850 for every second he played in Saturday’s penalty-filled disaster.
It’s unclear when Sabourin will serve the suspension because the Lightning sent him back to Syracuse in the American Hockey League on Monday. Sabourin played in just one NHL game last season.
Sabourin — who was on the ice for just 19 seconds Saturday — was awarded a game penalty for hounding Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad just 2:17 into the game. That set the tone for a rivalry in which officials called 65 penalties, issued 13 game misconducts and doled out 312 penalties.
There were so many penalties called that the crew on the ice clearly lost who was kicked out. Florida’s Niko Mikkola was credited midway through the third period for a goal that went unheard after about 15 minutes because Mikkola was unaware that he had been ejected earlier in the period — and thus ineligible to play.
“It got ridiculous. It got stupid by the end of it,” Ivan Rodriguez said that night. “Hockey wasn’t really there.”
Sabourin was one of six players called up by the Lightning on Friday for Saturday’s game. The moves came a day after the Lightning and Panthers game, another preseason game that featured 49 penalties and 186 minutes.
Ekblad left Saturday’s game after a hit from Sabourin. He was able to practice Monday and is expected to play when the two-time Stanley Cup champions open their season at home Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
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