Chiarot fined for butt-ending Ducks’ Perry

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This article was published 25/11/2017 (2900 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SAN JOSE, Calif — Corey Perry can get under opponents’ skin but crossing the line to try and even the score won’t be tolerated by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

Winnipeg Jets blue-liner Ben Chiarot found that out Saturday.

Chiarot avoided a suspension but was fined US$3,763.44, the maximum allowable under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, for butt-ending the Anaheim Ducks forward Friday afternoon.

The money goes to the NHL Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The incident occurred at 14:22 of the second period during a scrum in the Jets end. The combatants came together, Chiarot levelled the butt-end and Perry was left with a big gash on his chin that reportedly required 20 stitches.

There was no penalty on Chiarot, but Winnipeg centre Mark Scheifele drew a roughing penalty after other players joined the melee.

Perry has been a thorn in Winnipeg’s side for years, not just for the points he picks up. Last season, he caught Mathieu Perreault with a slash to the hand and broke his finger, causing the productive forward to miss three games.

There was no penalty on the play and no supplemental punishment doled out by the league.

The Jets are in San Jose to battle the Sharks tonight at 9 p.m. CT.

Winnipeg (14-5-3), second in the Western Conference and tied for third in the NHL, is 2-1 on the road trip after opening with a loss to the Nashville Predators but bouncing back with wins against the Los Angeles Kings and Ducks.

Head coach Paul Maurice has elected to go with goalie Steve Mason, whose terrific 38-save effort in L.A. helped solidify a 2-1 Wednesday.

He could just as soon flip a coin on his choice of netminders.

After a so-so performance in a 5-3 loss to Nashville, Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 30 shots in impressive fashion as the Jets dumped the Ducks 4-1 Friday.

Winnipeg hasn’t let the sting of defeat carry over, losing back-to-back games in regulation time only — and those were games 1 and 2 of the season. The club did lose consecutive road games in overtime but at least secured points.

“I’d like to think for (the goalies) we give them a better chance to have that redemption game, so when they have an off-night it’s usually the same time we feel our whole team did. Then, everybody needs to be a little bit better, and the guys in front of them have been and the goalies have been as well,” said Maurice, following Friday’s triumph.

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The Jets are 7-3-2 away from Bell MTS Place.

“It’s really important to win on the road. It’s the best place to win because you can put them on the bus and then you put them on a plane and they get to go to a hotel and they can spend all that time enjoying it together,” said Maurice. “These (are important) road wins in tough buildings — and we look at this is a very physically difficult stretch of hockey for us.”

The club returns home to face Central Division foes, the Minnesota Wild, on Monday night.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell