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 under the collective bargaining agreement.
Niederreiter hit Saros up in a rear-end collision five minutes from Hurricanes-Predators on Tuesday night. He received a minor penalty of two minutes for harsh.
Saros remained in the net for the rest of the first period, before being replaced by Pekka Rinne to start the second. Predators only said that Saros will be re-evaluated on Wednesday and did not provide details about the nature of his elimination from the game.
“The referee asked for a penalty,” Predators coach John Hynes said. “It was a blow to the head; we’ll have to see where it goes. There’s not much to comment on. What we all saw was what happened.”
Saros allowed two goals after the collision, and Nashville lost the game 4-2 after Rinne allowed one on 17 shots. Saros has started 12 of Nashville’s first 22 games, though Rinne is considering taking the reins first.
Kasimir Kaskisuo will then serve as goalkeeper no. 2 of the Predators. Kaskisuo has a game in the NHL experience, allowing six goals in 38 shots last season with Toronto.