Bruins hit with ‘unsportsmanlike’ fine from Penguins game
Saturday night in Pittsburgh came with more than a goal for Bruins defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.
But it was the wrong kind of call to get following a chippy game between the sides, as the NHL Department of Player Safety decided to hit the veteran Shattenkirk with a ‘maximum allowable’ fine for an unsportsmanlike conduct.
Boston’s Kevin Shattenkirk has been fined $2,734.38, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for unsportsmanlike conduct during last night’s game against Pittsburgh.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) April 14, 2024
As for the vague nature of the Player Safety ruling, it likely came when Shattenkirk issued a ‘let him know you’re there’ kind of slash from the Boston bench after Penguins forward Michael Bunting skated by the Boston bench following his uncalled trip on Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark. Shattenkirk was not the only Bruin who tried to get a piece of Bunting, but it is worth noting that he was the only one who appeared to make successful contact with Bunting.
This is the second time that a Bruin has been hit with a fine for coming to the defense of Ullmark, with Ullmark himself hit with a fine for slashing the Lightning’s Michael Eyssimont back in February after Eyssimont crashed into the Boston netminder and appeared to extend his shoulder towards Ullmark’s head in the process. It’s worth noting that in both incidents, neither player who collided with Ullmark, be it Bunting or Eyssimont, were fined by the NHL.
The collision with Ullmark was not the only Bunting-related incident of the evening, as the 28-year-old also had a run-in with Bruins captain Brad Marchand, and had a rather intentional-looking swing of his skate towards Marchand in the process.
When it comes to the ruling from Player Safety, it’s a fine that Shattenkirk and the Bruins will probably take every single day of the year, as the Bruins are not in the business of letting other teams know that it’s open season on their goaltenders.
This is the first fine of Shattenkirk’s 950-game NHL career, and his first run-in with the league’s disciplinary committee since a two-game suspension handed down to him back in Mar. 2017.
3 Stars: Pavel Zacha continues to thrive with Bruins
Third Star: Michael Bunting
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – APRIL 13: Michael Bunting #8 of the Pittsburgh Penguins reacts after scoring a goal in the second period during the game against the Boston Bruins at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 13, 2024. (Justin Berl/Getty Images)
When the Bruins appeared set to run away with this game, the Penguins’ Michael Bunting made it a game through 40 minutes by way of a power-play goal that sliced the Pittsburgh deficit to two by the second intermission.
Bunting didn’t quit on this game, either, as he also appeared to score Pittsburgh’s fourth and final goal of the contest, though that strike was later changed to belonging to Evgeni Malkin.
Second Star: Brad Marchand
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – APRIL 13: Brad Marchand #63 of the Bruins celebrates with Charlie Coyle #13 after scoring a a short-handed goal in the second period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 13, 2024. (Justin Berl/Getty Images)
Bruins captain Brad Marchand has never seen a shorthanded chance he didn’t want to bury, and he simply added to that lore Saturday night in Pittsburgh, with the shorthanded tally that started reliever Tristan Jarry’s night off on the worst possible note in the second period of play.
Marchand’s goal was good for his 67th point of the season, which matches last year’s total, and gives the 5-foot-9 wing two goals and four points in his last five outings overall.
Looking at it through a career scope, Marchand is now up to 36 career shorthanded goals, which is tied for the eighth-most shorthanded goals in NHL history. Next up on the leaderboard for Marchand: Butch Goring, Jari Kurri, and Dave Poulin, all of whom recorded 39 shorthanded markers in their respective NHL careers.
First Star: Pavel Zacha
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – APRIL 13: Pavel Zacha #18 of the Boston Bruins celebrates after scoring a goal in the second period during the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 13, 2024. (Justin Berl/Getty Images)
Believe it or not, Boston was (offseason) home to Pavel Zacha even before the Bruins acquired him from the Devils in 2022. But Zacha, added to the fold in a one-for-one trade for Erik Haula, has truly looked like a player who has found his place with the Bruins, and Saturday brought about another milestone for Zacha, who has now recorded a career-high 58 points on the season thanks to a one-goal, two-point night against the Penguins.
In addition to the career-high in points, Zacha’s second-period tally also saw him hit the 20-goal mark for the second straight season with the Bruins. And though Zacha will be the first to tell you that he is not ‘replacing’ David Krejci, there is some sort of comfort in knowing that Zacha did best Krejci’s numbers from a year ago with that two-point outing, as he’s now up to 58 points on the year after Krejci finished last season with 56 points in 70 games for the B’s.
What a steal of a trade for Don Sweeney.
