Washington Capitals forward Andrew Cristall has been fined by the NHL after a heated second-period sequence against the Philadelphia Flyers in Hershey.
The league announced Tuesday that Cristall, 21, was hit with a $2,250.86 fine, the maximum allowed under the CBA, for cross-checking Flyers forward Hunter McDonald after McDonald ran into newly re-signed Capitals star Ryan Leonard midway through the second period.
Cristall, the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NHL Draft, jumped into the fray after McDonald’s hit on Leonard. He cross-checked McDonald in the face, sending him to the ice, then added a secondary cross-check to McDonald’s back.
Officials responded with a five-minute cross-checking penalty and a 10-minute game misconduct. It didn’t change the outcome for Philadelphia, though, as the Flyers were beaten 5-2 at the GIANT Center after allowing three more goals.
After the game, Capitals coach Spencer Carbery defended Cristall’s intent.
“His heart was in the right place,” Carbery told reporters after the game about Cristall’s efforts. “He’s trying to stick up for a teammate that just got hit.
I didn’t see the replay. Obviously, they gave him a five-minute major.
But I told our guys, as AC is in that moment, and obviously, it’s high or whatever they call it on the ice, but his heart’s in the right place.
“He’s trying to stick up for one of his brothers. He’s trying to do the right thing and puts us shorthanded, but as I said, I know where he was coming from, and I appreciate that. You just want to try to do that as cleanly as you can in those moments.”
Cristall, who turns 22 in February, is trying to break into the Capitals’ NHL lineup this season after a strong first pro campaign. In 72 AHL games with the Hershey Bears in 2025-26, he scored 20 goals and added 40 assists for 60 points.
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