Senators’ Zack MacEwen fined for unsportsmanlike conduct against Panthers

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Tuesday that Senators forward Zack MacEwen was fined $2,018.23 for unsportsmanlike conduct. The amount is the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement.

The 27-year-old was initially handed a five-minute major and a match penalty for a check to the head in Ottawa’s 5-0 loss to the Panthers. MacEwen retaliated after Matthew Tkachuk hit Travis Hamonic early in the third period.

Tkachuk and Hamonic went at it briefly as time expired in the second period, with both receiving minor unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. That looked to be in the back of MacEwen’s mind when he went after Tkachuk.

MacEwen was suspended for kneeing Darnell Nurse of the Edmonton Oilers in 2021 while as a member of the Vancouver Canucks. That act led to MacEwen sitting out one game.

That incident spawned a whole bunch of penalties for the remainder of the game, with both Brady and Matthew Tkachuk being in the center of it.

In total, 167 minutes in penalties were handed out, with the teams combining for 13 power plays. Thirteen misconducts were also dealt, including one instance that saw everyone on the ice was penalized in some way or another. Brady Tkachuk led the Sens with 16 penalty minutes, while Jonah Gadjovich and Sam Bennett each had 12 for the Panthers.

It is the most penalty minutes in a single since last April when, you guessed it, the Panthers and Senators combined for 168 penalty minutes. That night saw Florida trounce Ottawa, 7-2.

The Senators are at the bottom of the Atlantic Division with 16 points, seven out of a playoff spot. The Panthers are second in the division, four back of the Boston Bruins.