NHL fines: Spurgeon’s cross-check; Maroon, Perry, Simmonds disciplined

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.

“We’ve got to play between the whistles and forget about the crap. We don’t need to do that,” said Wild head coach Dean Evason. “They’re avoidable penalties.”

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.

More NHL news

Rangers vs. Penguins: 3 things to know about First Round series The Wraparound: Unusual underdog roles for Capitals, Penguins Marner, Matthews, Maple Leafs maul Lightning in Game 1

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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.

NHL fines: Spurgeon’s cross-check; Maroon, Perry, Simmonds disciplined originally appeared on NBCSports.com