Montreal Canadiens captain Shea Weber on Tuesday was fined $5,000 for slashing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The fine is the maximum allowable under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement.
Weber delivered a slash to the back of the left leg of Kucherov with approximately 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the third period on Monday. The blow sent the former Hart Trophy recipient sprawling to the ice.
No penalty was assessed on the play, however Kucherov scored two goals and set up another to lead the host Lightning to a 5-1 victory.
Kucherov, who missed the entire regular season after offseason hip surgery, has collected 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists) in this year’s playoff run. He became the fourth player in NHL history to record 30 or more points in multiple playoff years, joining Wayne Gretzky (six times), Mark Messier (three times), Jari Kurri (two times) and Mario Lemieux (two times).
Weber notched an assist on fellow defenseman Ben Chiarot’s goal late in the second period for the Canadiens, who will look to rebound in Game 2 on Wednesday in Tampa.
–Field Level Media