The NHL announced that Florida Panthers center Nick Cousins and St. Louis Blues center Oskar Sundqvist have been fined $2,000 for embellishment.
Cousins’ fine was for a play that occurred late in the second period of a game on February 27th against the Buffalo Sabres. During a post-whistle scrum, Sabres winger Jordan Greenway appeared to cross-check Cousins in the face, with Cousins immediately collapsing on the ice and seeming to be in pain. However, after just a couple seconds, Cousins got up as if nothing happened to join the scrum going on, which was flagged by the NHL as embellishment.
The NHL mentioned in their statement on Cousins’ fine that he received it after getting a warning from the league earlier in the season for embellishment. While they didn’t specify what flagged the warning, they did mention that it occurred during the Panthers’ game on November 4th against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Cousins, 30, is having a bit of a down season with just 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points in 51 games. That puts him on pace for just 13 points should he play out the rest of the season, which would be his lowest output since 2015-16.
Sundqvist’s fine was for a play that occurred in the dying seconds of the second period of a game on February 28th against the Edmonton Oilers. When Sundqvist was battling with Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard towards the corner to get the puck, Bouchard seemed to grab Sundqvist and throw him on the ice, which resulted in a penalty for interference. While Sundqvist did not receive any discipline for the play during the game, it was eventually flagged for embellishment, resulting in the fine.
Like Cousins, Sundqvist, 29, received a warning earlier in the season, which is why he got the fine now. The NHL did not specify which incident caused the warning, but did mention that it occurred during a game against the Montreal Canadiens on February 11th.
Sundqvist has been par for the course this season in terms of production, with 6 goals and 15 assists for 21 points in 62 games. Just a couple hours before receiving the fine on Thursday, it was announced that he signed a two-year extension with the Blues at a $1.5 million cap hit.
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