Senators’ Nick Cousins fined for elbowing Sabres’ Jacob Bryson

Ottawa Senators center Nick Cousins has been fined $2,083.33, the maximum allowable amount under the collective bargaining agreement, as a result of elbowing Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Friday.

The incident occurred early in the third period of Thursday’s contest between the two Atlantic Division rivals. Cousins was assessed a two-minute minor penalty on the play, while Bryson did not leave the game as a result of the incident. In the end, the Sabres came away with a 4-0 road victory.

On the season, Cousins has made 38 appearances with the Senators in which he has registered five goals and seven assists for 12 points with 27 penalty minutes. The 31-year-old native of nearby Belleville, Ont., agreed to a one-year, $800,000 pact with Ottawa in the offseason after helping the Florida Panthers hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history last June.

Originally chosen in the third round of the 2011 NHL Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers, Cousins has seen 630 NHL appearances counting stops with the Flyers, the former Arizona Coyotes, Montreal Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights, Nashville Predators, Panthers, and Senators in which he has tallied 76 goals and 116 assists for 192 points alongside 339 penalty minutes.

For Bryson, the fifth-year blue-liner has made 25 appearances with the Sabres this season in which he has tallied three assists with eight penalty minutes. A 2017 fourth-round selection by Buffalo, Bryson has seen 231 career contests in which he has has collected four goals and 35 assists for 39 points.

The Sabres and Senators will meet four times in 2024-25, with the next two contests coming March 25 and April 1. Buffalo leads the season series by a 2-0 margin, counting Thursday’s shutout victory and a 5-1 decision that came in early November.