Wild's Kirill Kaprizov fined, but not suspended, after match penalty

ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Kirill Kaprizov was not suspended by the NHL for the cross check to the face of the Kings' Drew Doughty that got him kicked out of the Wild's 1-0 loss at Los Angeles on Tuesday, but the winger was fined $5,000.

That's the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, with the NHL Department of Player Safety penalizing Kaprizov for roughing.

At 14 minutes, 45 seconds of the second period, Kaprizov leveled Doughty after the two had been battling along the boards.

Kaprizov was assessed a match penalty, which comes with an automatic suspension pending a league review. But he avoided a suspension, with the fine the only additional discipline levied by the NHL, and he was back in action on Wednesday at Anaheim.

The Wild felt Kaprizov hit Doughty with his glove, and Kaprizov has no suspension history in his NHL career.

Doughty remained in the game, even waving goodbye to Kaprizov. The Kings didn't score on their ensuing five-minute power play, but they did capitalize with 6:03 to go in the third period on a one-timer from Gabriel Vilardi that was enough to hand the Wild their second consecutive shutout loss.

Wild coach Dean Evason pointed out Kaprizov was "cross checked and mauled" in the lead-up to the whack on Doughty and emphasized the lack of penalties called against the superstar.

"He has the puck all the time," Evason said. "He's getting so much attention. He has it. He's spinning back and forth, and there's no calls."

Through 12 games, Kaprizov has drawn five penalties, which is less than 55 players in the NHL.

Last season, Kaprizov ranked fifth in penalties drawn at 43. Compared with the other top 10 scorers from that season, only Calgary's Jonathan Huberdeau (three), Toronto's Mitch Marner (two) and Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos (one) have merited fewer whistles than Kaprizov. The likes of Toronto's Auston Matthews (nine), Florida's Matthew Tkachuk (nine) and Edmonton's Connor McDavid (seven) have more.

"I'm seeing a lot of other star players getting a lot of penalties drawn," said Mats Zuccarello, Kaprizov's longtime linemate. "As his teammate and our team, we'd like to see some more calls. But it is what it is."

On the Wild, Kaprizov is tied for third in penalties drawn, behind Marcus Foligno (seven) and Ryan Hartman (six).

"Kirill Kaprizov plays the same way every night," Evason said. "He plays hard every night, and I guess that's why he doesn't draw penalties. He's such a gritty guy. He's so strong, and he has the puck. He doesn't fall down. He certainly doesn't dive.

"So, he's not going to change his game because of what happened [Tuesday] night or what didn't happen [Tuesday] night."

Adam Beckman made his season debut against the Ducks at Honda Center.

Jordan Greenway came out of the lineup, a planned decision by the Wild to have him play only one game of the back-to-back. Greenway skated 14:38 on Tuesday in his return from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for seven games.

In net, Filip Gustavsson made his third start of the season after Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots from the Kings a day earlier.

Foligno missed a fifth straight game with an upper-body injury, but it's possible he suits up on Friday at Seattle when this three-game, West Coast road trip concludes.

Brandon Duhaime and Hartman (upper-body injuries) remain away from the team.

"They're not close," Evason said.