ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Kirill Kaprizov was not suspended by the NHL for the cross check to the face of the Kings' Drew Doughty that got him kicked out of the Wild's 1-0 loss at Los Angeles on Tuesday, but the winger was fined $5,000.
That's the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, with the NHL Department of Player Safety penalizing Kaprizov for roughing.
At 14 minutes, 45 seconds of the second period, Kaprizov leveled Doughty after the two had been battling along the boards.
Kaprizov was assessed a match penalty, which comes with an automatic suspension pending a league review. But he avoided a suspension, with the fine the only additional discipline levied by the NHL, and he was back in action on Wednesday at Anaheim.
The Wild felt Kaprizov hit Doughty with his glove, and Kaprizov has no suspension history in his NHL career.
Doughty remained in the game, even waving goodbye to Kaprizov. The Kings didn't score on their ensuing five-minute power play, but they did capitalize with 6:03 to go in the third period on a one-timer from Gabriel Vilardi that was enough to hand the Wild their second consecutive shutout loss.
Wild coach Dean Evason pointed out Kaprizov was "cross checked and mauled" in the lead-up to the whack on Doughty and emphasized the lack of penalties called against the superstar.
"He has the puck all the time," Evason said. "He's getting so much attention. He has it. He's spinning back and forth, and there's no calls."
