The NHL's Department of Player Safety has fined Beck Malenstyn and Arber Xhekaj following the events in Sunday's game.
Sunday night’s duel between the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres wasn’t for the faint-hearted. There were big hits, elbows, punches, and stick whacks. It wasn’t pretty, unless of course you're into that kind of hockey, in which case, you probably loved it. Still, the deeper we got into the game and the more frequent the incidents became, which makes sense given how much of a one-sided affair it was becoming.
There was, however, one moment that prompted a collective horrified gasp from the filled to the rafters Bell Center, the moment when Beck Malenstyn collided at full speed with Jakub Dobes. By that time, the score was 3-1 Montreal, and the Sabres were seriously feeling the pressure. When Malenstyn battled with Zach Bolduc to reach the net, he saw an opportunity to get to Jakub Dobes, to shake him up and get him off his game. The jump right before the impact, as well, made it look like the Sabres forward might have been a WWE in a previous life, as if he was jumping off the third rope for a flying elbow.
Somehow, that play only led to a two-minute goalie interference call, and while the Canadiens took advantage of that opportunity to make it 4-1, that moment in the game, that hit on Dobes, will not be forgotten or forgiven. On Monday afternoon, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced that Malenstyn had been fined $3,515.63, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the play. That’s a slap on the wrist considering how disastrous that incident could have been for the Canadiens. Habs fans will remember all too well what kind of effect an injury to a team’s number one goaltender can have in the playoffs; some still have nightmares about the Carey Price-Chris Kreider incident.
Malenstyn wasn’t the only one to be fined on Monday afternoon. Arber Xhekaj also encountered “the wrath” of the Department of Player Safety for roughing Sam Carrick in the dying seconds of the game. At 19:56, there was a melee in the corner, and Alex Carrier was outnumbered by two Sabres. The gritty defenseman intervened and pulled Carrick off Carrier, then proceeded to give him one punch to the jaw, which sent him down to the ice. It will be interesting to see if a Sabres player will dare try to “keep Xhekaj accountable.” Just like Malenstyn, the rugged defenseman was fined $3,385.42.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.