Nikita Kucherov gets ejected for kneeing and injuring Matthew Tkachuk

The battle of Florida is a rivalry that has built into one of the best across the entire NHL.

Early in tonight's contest between the Panthers and Lightning Kucherov was handed down an ejection for coming through the middle of the ice and connecting with a knee-on-knee hit sending Tkachuk down to the ice.

Kucherov would immediately be handed a 5-minute major and be ejected from the game and now could be facing even further discipline.

The hit would also knock Panthers superstar Matthew Tkachuk out of the game as he would need to be helped off the ice by teammates.

The Panthers would then head to the powerplay without their superstar American forward as he would get evaluated by the medical staff.

After spending some time being evaluated by medical staff Tkachuk returned to the ice and the Panthers crowd went wild.

Tkachuk of course is a huge part of the Panthers' success so his return is a huge sigh of relief for the team and their fans.

Now the Panthers will try and take advantage of the major powerplay and the missing superstar for the Lightning to try and take home a big win in an Atlantic Division matchup.

After the game concludes we should get an injury update from Tkachuk as well as Panthers head coach Paul Maurice heading into the future.

Then all eyes will be on Nikita Kucherov as he will await any potential further punishment from the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

As more information is provided on Tkachuk's status and Kucherov's potential discipline we will pass along the latest news to you.