Nikita Zadorov was fined $5,000 by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Monday for cross-checking Buffalo Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin in Game 4 of the first-round series. The league said the penalty was the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
The hit came in the third period of Sunday’s 6-1 Buffalo victory, after the Sabres were already ahead 6-0 and play had been whistled dead on an offsides call. Zadorov skated up to Dahlin at centre ice and cross-checked him from behind, then swung at him before referees stepped in to break up the exchange. He was assessed a five-minute major for cross-checking and a game misconduct, and both sides received roughing penalties in the ensuing scrum.
The fine was Zadorov’s second penalty of the game, after he had already been called for holding in the second period. Buffalo’s win gave it a 3-1 lead in the series, and Game 5 was scheduled for Tuesday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
In a first-round playoff series that has turned increasingly physical, the punishment for Zadorov closes one flashpoint but leaves Boston facing elimination and Buffalo one win from advancing. Dahlin was the player at the center of the confrontation, and the Sabres will have the chance to finish the series on home ice in Buffalo.
