Canadiens, Capitals fined for unsportsmanlike conduct in warmups before Game 4
The Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals keep racking up the fines in their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series.
On Monday, the NHL announced that each team had been fined $25,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct during warm-ups ahead of their Game 4 Stanley Cup Playoff matchup, the second game in the series to result in financial penalties.
The league also announced that Montreal defenseman Arber Xhekaj had been fined $3,385.42 and Washington blueliner Dylan McIlrath $2,018.23, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for their actions during Game 4’s warmup.
It is unknown what happened as McIlrath did not play in Game 4, a 5-2 Washington win.
After a heated but relatively clean first two games of the series, the temperature rose between the two teams when the games shifted to Montreal’s Bell Centre.
In the wake of Game 3, Canadiens winger Josh Anderson and Capitals winger Tom Wilson were each fined $5,000 for their fight on the bench, while Xhekaj has continually been getting into physical and verbal altercations since being added to the lineup in Montreal’s home games.
The fines to the players go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund, while the fines to the teams go to the NHL Foundation.
While Montreal’s 6-3 Game 3 victory featured a combined 42 penalty minutes between the two teams, it was a devastating hit from Wilson on Montreal’s Alexandre Carrier that highlighted Game 4’s physicality, before the Capitals secured their 5-2 win.
Through the four-game series, the Canadiens and Capitals have combined for 94 penalty minutes, with total fines to teams and players hitting $65,403.65.
Anderson leads Montreal in the series with 20 penalty minutes, with Wilson sitting on 14 to lead the Capitals.
Holding a 3-1 lead in the series heading back to Capital One Arena after a two-day break, Wilson and the Capitals will have an opportunity to eliminate the Canadiens on Wednesday in Game 5, with puck drop set for 7:00 pm ET.