NEW YORK – Carolina Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter was fined by the NHL on Wednesday for interfering with Nashville goalkeeper Juuse Saros, the maximum amount allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
Niederreiter hit Saros high five minutes into the Hurricanes Predators game Tuesday night in a collision behind the net. He imposed a two-minute minor sentence for the robbery.
Saros stayed in the network for the rest of the first period before being replaced by Pekka Rinne to start the second. The Predators only said that Saros will be re-evaluated on Wednesday and provide no details on the nature of the removal of the match.
“The ref called a penalty kick,” said Predators coach John Hynes. “It was a hit in the head; we’ll have to see where it’s coming from. There’s not much left 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 started 12 of Nashville’s first 22 games, though Rinne wants to take the reins.
Kasimir Kaskisuo would then be the Predator’s no. 2-goalie serve. Kaskisuo has one game of NHL experience, allowing six goals on 38 shots last season with Toronto.