Barzal of Islanders fined $5,000 for actions in Game 5

Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders on Tuesday was fined $5,000 by the NHL Department of Player Safety, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, for cross-checking Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta during Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals on Monday.

The center will play Game 6 for the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS). The Islanders trail the best-of-7 series 3-2 and would be eliminated with a loss.
The incident occurred shortly after the end of the second period. Barzal received a major penalty for cross-checking and a game misconduct at 20:00. Rutta did not play in the third period. Tampa Bay won the game 8-0.
"I'm disappointed because it wasn't going well and you just sort of dug it a little deeper for the guys," New York coach Barry Trotz said of Barzal's major penalty.
Barzal has scored 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 17 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, tied for third on the Islanders with forwards Anthony Beauvillier (four goals, eight points) and Brock Nelson (seven goals, five assists); forwards Josh Bailey (six goals, seven assists) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (three goals, 10 assists) are tied for first with 13 points.
Barzal has scored eight points (six goals, two assists) in the past nine games, after he had four assists in his first eight postseason games. He led the Islanders with 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 55 games during the regular season.