Associated Press<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Florida Panthers<\/a> forward Sandis Vilmanis<\/a> was shaken up Saturday after a hit by Washington’s Tom Wilson<\/a> in the first period.<\/p>\n Wilson was given a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct. Vilmanis had just played the puck in the offensive zone when Wilson struck him in the back and sent him head-first into the area where the boards and glass meet.<\/p>\n The Panthers said that Vilmanis will not return to the game.<\/p>\n Florida scored once on the extended power play to take a 2-1 lead.<\/p>\n Wilson has been suspended several times during his 14-year career. He was given 20 games for a blindside hit to to the head in 2018, a ban later reduced to 14 games on appeal after he had already served 16. He received a seven-game suspension for boarding Boston\u2019s Brandon Carlo with head contact in 2021 and six games in 2024 for a stick to the face of Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> forward Noah Gregor<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old Vilmanis had his first career two-goal game Wednesday night when Florida beat Chicago.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n