The Minnesota Wild will be very lucky to have Jared Spurgeon in their lineup for Game 2 Wednesday night.
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Tuesday that Spurgeon will be fined $5,000 for cross-checking St. Louis Pavel Buchnevich during the Blues’ Game 1 win.
Spurgeon and Buchnevich were battling for a puck late in the third period when the Blues forward awkwardly fell on the back of the Wild defenseman’s leg. That prompted Spurgeon to lay a cross-check on the back of Buchnevich’s leg.
Spurgeon, a Lady Byng Trophy finalist last season, was given a minor penalty on the play.
“It’s something I’m not really proud of,” Spurgeon said Tuesday. “Something I don’t usually do and just got a little frustrated and I’m happy he’s alright. But that’s something I usually don’t do and not the player I am. So I’m not very happy with myself to say at least.”
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Maroon, Perry, Simmonds docked for actions
Things got physical during Game 1 of the Maple Leafs-Lightning series and Kyle Clifford’s likely suspension isn’t the only discipline coming out of Monday night.
A third-period scrum developed into some fisticuffs, which led to Pat Maroon ($2,250), Corey Perry ($2,500), and Wayne Simmonds ($2,250) being fined by the NHL. Maroon earned a 10-minute misconduct, while Perry was given an unsportsmanlike minor, two roughing minors and a 10-minute misconduct. Simmonds was also assessed a 10-minute misconduct.
Game 2 will be Wednesday night in Toronto.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.