Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi was fined $5,000 — the maximum amount allowed by the league’s collective bargaining agreement — for boarding Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov as time expired in Game 4 of their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series Sunday.
Toronto was trailing 2-0 when the final buzzer sounded, and Domi hit Barkov from behind, sending him headfirst into the boards. Domi was given a minor penalty for boarding at the time while several other scrums broke out before officials moved players off the ice.
Florida’s victory evened the best-of-seven series at 2-all. Game 5 is set for Wednesday in Toronto.
Toronto coach Craig Berube didn’t comment on the Domi hit directly Monday, but he did say he thought Dmitry Kulikov’s hit on Mitch Marner “was way worse”
On that play, the Panthers defenseman caught Marner up high with an elbow, leaving the Leafs forward momentarily dazed. No penalty was called on Kulikov.
It wasn’t the first elbowing incident to draw attention in the series.
In Game 1, Panthers forward Sam Bennett sent an elbow to the head of Leafs netminder Anthony Stolarz shortly before Stolarz left the game. He was later hospitalized for further evaluation and hasn’t been able to resume skating since. There is currently no timeline for his return.
The physical intensity of the series might continue to rise now that it’s down to being a best-of-three. Based on how Game 4 played out, the Leafs are prepared to push back when they host Florida on Wednesday.
“We expected [the physicality], and I think we’re fine with it,” Berube said. “We’re handling it. We’re physical. I thought we were the more physical team [in Game 4].”
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