Florida Panthers’ Ben Chiarot fined for head-butting

The NHL Department of Player Safety fined Florida Panthers defenseman Ben Chiarot $5,000 for head-butting Tampa Bay Lightning center Ross Colton on Wednesday afternoon.

The incident occurred in the middle of the second period as the Lightning and Panthers were engaging in a post-whistle scrum. Chiarot head-butted Colton, although it wasn’t an overly aggressive attempt like the one that got Darnell Nurse suspended for a game in the Edmonton Oilers’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. There was no penalty called during the game, but Chiarot doesn’t have a history of being suspended either, so a fine seemed to be the route to go with this play.

Chiarot has just one assist in seven games this postseason, although he had two goals and eight points in 20 games with the Panthers this season. He was dealt to the Panthers at the trade deadline from the Montreal Canadiens, with whom he had seven goals and 18 points in 54 games this season.

The Panthers are probably happy that Chiarot will be in the lineup, as they’ll be looking to rebound from a 4-1 loss to the Lightning in Game 1. He’ll be especially important on a penalty kill that will look to turn things around after allowing three goals in Game 1, but he’s not a part of the power play that hasn’t scored a goal this postseason.