The NHL Department of Player Safety handed out a pair of fines Sunday, sanctioning defensemen Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins and Brendan Smith of the Carolina Hurricanes for violations committed during Saturday’s series-ending contest. Both were fined the maximum allowable amount under the CBA.
McAvoy’s $5,000 fine came for tripping Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei. The incident came at 6:10 of the third period. The Bruins were pressing into Carolina’s end of the ice looking to create a scoring chance when their possession of the puck ended and Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast cleared the puck down the ice. McAvoy, who was hovering around the area that Fast occupied, knocked Fast down and then went and committed this tripping infraction on Skjei.
Smith’s fine, a $2,000 cost to the player, is for elbowing Bruins’ forward David Pastrnak. Pastrnak retrieved a puck in the corner and curled it around the net. After the puck had left Pastrnak’s stick, Smith went to engage Pastrnak in a body check. Smith left his feet on the check with his elbow rising to the point of hitting Pastrnak in the head, hence the fine for elbowing. The incident occurred at 1:18 in the third period.
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