MONTREAL (AP) – Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo said Max Domi's punch on Aaron Ekblad was "inconsistent".

Domi has been seen imposing a penalty for hitting Ekblad in the nose in the third period in the 5-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.

Ekblad left the game at the request of the NHL and did not return. He passed tests after the match and approved the concussion protocol.

"I'm sure the league will look into it and we certainly will not forget it," said Luongo, who played the first two periods. "You do not do that, you respect your opponents and if your opponent does not want to fight, there's no reason to drop your glove and punch it in the face. things. "

With the Canadians losing 2-1 early in the third period, Domi – acquired from Arizona in the off-season – started shooting at Ekblad's jersey, asking him to fight. With the Florida star showing no interest in dropping the gloves, Domi hit him in the face twice with two left, but Ekblad still has not responded. It was at this point that Domi dropped his right glove and that Suck hit him in the face.

The bloody Ekblad fell on the ice. Domi has received a minor, major and match penalty.

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"The safety of NHL players will revise it – it's now in their hands," said Panthers coach Bob Boughner. "We had a late penalty and Ekblad was just trying to stay out of it, I was not expecting him to drop his glove and head."

Mike Hoffman added, "I imagine they were trying to show something there – it's the pre-season, so maybe guys are trying to make an impression." But can to be doing it by playing hockey. "

Canadians saw the altercation a little differently.

"The two were arguing," said Jonathan Drouin. "I saw a big slash of Ekblad on Max, and Max just took matters in. It's also Ekblad's fault for not protecting himself."

Evgenii Dadonov and Jared McCann each scored two goals for Florida, and Nick Bjugstad added an empty goal. Luongo stopped 20 of 21 shots and Michael Hutchinson stopped 11 of 12 shots in the third.

Matthew Peca and Nikita Scherbak scored for the Canadiens. Carey Price played the first half of the game, stopping 20 of 22 shots. Antti Niemi made 16 saves on 18 shots in relief.