HockeyFeed
Luke Schenn pummels Ryan Lomberg seconds after he steps out on the ice.
 

Luke Schenn pummels Ryan Lomberg seconds after he steps out on the ice.

What a beatdown.

HockeyFeed

HockeyFeed

You have to respect every player that puts his body on the line to defend his teammates, but that doesn't mean it's always a good decision to make.

On Saturday night we got a preview of the upcoming playoff matchup between interstate rivals the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the game definitely had a playoff atmosphere to it. By the time it was all said and done both teams had collectively earned a whopping 136 penalty minutes over the course of the game, but it was undoubtedly Lightning defenseman Luke Schenn who sent the strongest message of the night when it comes to the physical aspect of the game.

Schenn drew the ire of the Panthers after delivering a hard hit to recently acquired Panthers' forward Sam Bennett, and it was immediately following that hit that the Panthers sent Ryan Lomberg out onto the ice. There was no question about why Lomberg was sent out as he immediately went after Schenn, earning himself an instigator major in the process, but although he went out there with the intent to avenge his teammate he only managed to provide Schenn with a brand new target for punishment.

To call this fight one sided is honestly probably an understatement as Schenn fed Lomberg a steady diet of punches with seemingly no response from the Florida Panthers winger. At one point it looked like Schenn was just straight up ragdolling Lomberg with a single hand on the man all the while continuing to rain down heavy blows, many of which connected. Honestly if it weren't for the NHL officials stepping in to stop this one while both men were still on their feet, I think there is a good chance that Schenn could have seriously hurt Lomberg during this exchange given just how much of a mismatch this one appeared to be.

As I said this game was a preview of a first round series that we will see in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, but before that series begins these two teams will play one more time in the regular season. I sincerely hope after witnessing this exchange the Panthers won't be sending Lomberg out to deal with Scheen again in the future.