ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) – The NHL fined Capitals forward Tom Wilson $2,404 on Friday for his knee-on-knee hit on Pittsburgh’s Conor Sheary, sparing him a suspension that could have altered the second-round playoff series against the Penguins.
Wilson sent Sheary to the ice with his left knee 4 minutes into the third period of the Capitals’ 4-3 overtime victory in Game 1 on Thursday night. Sheary hobbled to the nearby bench in pain and missed a few shifts, and Wilson was not penalized.
Capitals coach Barry Trotz watched the replay Friday and said Sheary did a “shimmy,” describing the collision as “shin-on-shin.”
When asked if it was clean, Trotz said: “I thought it was OK, but it wasn’t really, I would say, necessary, probably on both.”
The fine is the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement.