Mikko Rantanen Fined $5,000 After Kirill Kaprizov Cross-Check

Mikko Rantanen was fined $5,000 after a cross-check on kirill kaprizov in Game 6 of the teams’ Central Division Semifinal. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced the penalty on Friday, and the fine matches the maximum allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement.

Game 6 Cross-Check

The incident came a few minutes into the third period, when Rantanen threw a high hit while battling for a loose puck in the corner. He was assessed a minor penalty for cross-checking, and Kaprizov was able to continue.

The timing put the play in the middle of a playoff game that Minnesota finished with a 5-2 victory to clinch its first playoff series win since 2015. That gave the Wild a clean result on the ice even as the league addressed the play afterward.

Wild Advance, Stars Take Note

Kaprizov led all skaters with nine points in the series, while Rantanen finished with a goal and seven points in six games. Those numbers frame the contrast between Minnesota’s series win and Dallas’ exit from the matchup.

The $5,000 fine goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. Rantanen had already drawn supplemental discipline earlier in the season, including a one-game suspension in November after a pair of ejections less than a week apart and two $2,000 fines, one in November 2018 and another in May 2021, both for diving.

Jamie Benn also received a $5,000 fine after cross-checking Ryan Hartman after Game 5, leaving Dallas with two separate supplemental-discipline cases from the same series. For the Stars, the takeaway is simple: the league has now fined two of its forwards for postgame and in-game contact in a playoff loss that ended Minnesota’s run back to the top of the Central Division bracket.