By: Justin Gincauskas
The NHL suspended Florida Panthers forward William Lockwood for three games Saturday for goalie interference against Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The incident occurred in the first period of Florida’s 6-4 loss to Minnesota on Friday night.
Lockwood was chasing the puck behind the Wild net when he hit Fleury, who was out of his crease playing the puck. William Lockwood attempted to move out of the way at the last second, but the contact he made with Fleury’s head was enough for him to be suspended by the NHL Department of Player Safety. Three Minnesota Wild players immediately came to the defense of Fleury as a fight broke out between the two teams.
Lockwood received a minor penalty for interference. He will forfeit $12,109.38 under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Fleury appeared injured on the play but did not leave until the second period. Filip Gustavsson eventually replaced Fleury, who the Wild ruled out for the remainder of the game with an upper-body injury. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Fleury will miss at least one game.
“Fleury will not play tomorrow, but he remains on the Wild’s road trip,” Friedman said on Saturday. “The hope is maybe only a game or two, but thankfully it doesn’t look to be anything more serious than that.”
Lockwood, 25, was taken in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He appeared in just 28 games with Vancouver across three seasons before signing with Florida as a free agent in the summer of 2023.
Lockwood has played 23 games with the Florida Panthers this season. He has collected one assist and 14 penalty minutes.
In his NHL career, Lockwood has two assists in 51 games. He will be eligible to return on Jan. 27 when the Florida Panthers take on the New York Islanders.
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