Shocking: Florida’s defenseman to be dismissed from hockey after illegal check to head.

Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Monday for throwing an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Conor Sheary.

The incident occurred at the 3:38 mark of the second period of Saturday’s game between the Panthers and Lightning at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL. Kulikov was assessed a match penalty on the play.

The penalty negated a goal scored immediately thereafter by Panthers defenseman Josh Mahura. After a review initiated by the league’s command center, the goal was overturned and Kulikov was ejected from the game.

Sheary returned to the game after missing less than half a period and ultimately logged 9:29 of total ice time. The Lightning defeated the Panthers by a 5–3 final score.

Kulikov, 33, skated in just 4:33 of Saturday’s game before being assessed the match penalty. He added 15 penalty minutes to his stat line for a new total of 59 on the season.

The Panthers originally selected Kulikov with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. The Lipetsk, Russia product spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Panthers before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres in 2016.

After one season in Buffalo, Kulikov spent time with the Winnipeg Jets, New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, and Pittsburgh Penguins before returning to the Panthers last summer on a one-year contract.

Through 936 career games over parts of 15 seasons with eight different NHL teams, Kulikov has collected 45 goals and 230 points. He’s added eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 29 career playoff contests.

The Panthers are slated to return to action on Thursday, March 21 to take on the Nashville Predators for a home contest in Sunrise at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to have hearing with NHL Department of Player Safety.

Kulikov was given a match penalty and ejected from Saturday’s game for an illegal hit to the head of Tampa’s Conor Sheary

Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov could be facing some discipline from the NHL after being penalized for a hit that occurred on Saturday.

During the second period of Florida’s 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Kulikov was given a match penalty for an illegal check to the head.

The play occurred during a scramble in front of Tampa Bay’s net.

Kulikov caught Lightning forward Conor Sheary in the head with his elbow as the two came together just above the goal crease.

Sheary’s head was down as he was looking at the puck, and Kulikov skated into him and delivered a direct hit to the side of the helmet.

Sheary immediately went down and the puck made it way to Panthers defenseman Josh Mahura, who quickly corralled it and sent a wrist shot past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Initially called a goal, officials reviewed the play and ultimately called the five minute major and gave Kulikov a game misconduct.

On Sunday, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that it would hold a hearing with Kulikov regarding the hit.

The veteran defenseman has been suspended once before during his career.

It came back in February of 2015 for clipping Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin, who had to miss several weeks due to the hit. Kulikov was suspended four games.

Expect an announcement from the NHL DOPS sometime after Monday’s hearing.

For what it’s worth, former NHL defenseman and current ESPN commentator P.K. Subban thinks Kulikov getting a match penalty for the hit was “egregious.”