Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier has been fined $5,000 by the NHL Department of Player Safety for his slashing penalty against Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis on Tuesday night.
The fine is the maximum allowed under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement.
The incident unfolded in the second period of Florida’s 7-3 win over Columbus. After Olivier reacted to some physical play along the boards with no puck nearby, he slashed Balinskis in the groin and sent him to the ice.
Balinskis stayed in the game. Olivier, meanwhile, was hit with a five-minute major and tossed from the contest.
For Olivier, a physical presence known as one of the league’s top fighters, this marks the first supplemental discipline of his NHL career.
He’s been busy early this season, piling up 27 penalty minutes in five games while also scoring two goals for his two points. The Mississippi native is in his eighth NHL season, and across 316 regular-season games he has 94 points, including 48 goals and 46 assists, along with 506 penalty minutes.
Florida needed the win without star forwards Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand. Brady Tkachuk also broke out with a historic natural hat trick to jump-start his season, and the Panthers moved to 3-2-2.
Columbus dropped to 2-3-0 and drew sharp criticism from head coach Rick Bowness after the game. The Blue Jackets get their next chance to steady things when they host the surging New York Rangers on Saturday night.
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