NEW YORK – Carolina Hurricanes striker Nino Niederreiter was fined $ 5,000 by the NHL on Wednesday for interfering with Nashville goalkeeper Juuse Saros, the maximum amount allowed by the collective bargaining agreement.
Niederreiter hit Saros from the top in a collision behind the net five minutes after the Hurricanes-Predators game started on Tuesday night. He received a less than two-minute penalty for violence.
Saros remained in the net for the rest of the first period, before being replaced by Pekka Rinne to start the second. The Predators said only that Saros would be reevaluated Wednesday and gave no details on the nature of his departure from the game.
“The referee scored a penalty,” said Predators coach John Hynes. “It was a blow to the head; we will have to see where it goes from there. There is not much else to comment on. What we all saw is what happened.”
Saros allowed two goals after the collision, and Nashville lost the game 4-2 after Rinne allowed one in 17 shots. Saros started 12 of Nashville’s first 22 games, although Rinne decides to take the reins in the future.
Kasimir Kaskisuo would then be the Predators’ number two goalkeeper. Kaskisuo has an experience game in the NHL, allowing six goals in 38 shots last season with Toronto.