Phillip Danault was fined by NHL’s Department of Player Safety after his trip of Aaron Ekblad during Friday’s game against the Florida Panthers.
Montreal’s Phillip Danault has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for a dangerous trip on Florida’s Aaron Ekblad.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) December 29, 2018
The trip came in a battle along the boards in the dying minutes of the game when Montreal Canadiens was up 4-2. It’s Phillip Danault’s first dealing with department of player safety and the punishment reflects that as it is the maximum allowed fine. Danault has played in all of Montreal’s games this season and has accumulated 25 penalty minutes including the ones given for this infraction.
Ekblad took offence to the penalty and went after Danault but faces no extra discipline from the department of player safety. The two went offline for fighting after the incident.
It is the second incident between a Canadiens forward and Ekblad after Max Domi was suspended in the pre-season for punching the Panthers defenceman.