Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma hit with $10,000 fine; hair-pullin’ Craig Adams suspended for Game 4 vs. Flyers
The first wave of punishments from Game 3 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers crashed down on coach Dan Bylsma and forward Craig Adams on Monday, stemming from this late-game incident with Scott Hartnell:
From the NHL:
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Craig Adams has been suspended for one game and Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma has been fined $10,000 for Adams' actions in the final five minutes of Sunday's Eastern Conference Quarterfinal playoff game against the Flyers in Philadelphia, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.
Adams instigated a fight at 15:18 of the third period. He was assessed a minor penalty for instigating, a major penalty for fighting and a game misconduct.
Both Adams' suspension and Bylsma's fine are automatic for violation of NHL Rule 46.12 — Instigator in Final Five Minutes of Regulation Time (or Anytime in Overtime), and as outlined by NHL Rule 46.22.
Say, what does Rule 46.22 entail?
46.22 Fines and Suspensions — Instigator in Final Five Minutes of Regulation Time (or Anytime in Overtime) - A player who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five (5) minutes of regulation time or at anytime in overtime (see 46.12) shall be suspended for one game, pending a review of the incident. When the one-game suspension is imposed, the Coach shall be fined $10,000 — a fine that will double for each subsequent incident.
There is a mechanism through which a player like Adams could have his suspension overturned, as long as "the incident is not related to the score, previous incidents in the game or prior games, retaliatory in nature, 'message sending', etc." Being that nothing Adams did, or its context, met those standards, the suspension stands.
The hair-pulling probably didn't help.
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