Evgeni Malkin Receives Maximum Fine from the DoPS for Dirty Slash on Boston Bruins Young Defenseman

One of the biggest disappointments this season in the NHL has been the Pittsburgh Penguins' performances.

After 25 games, they are currently tied with the New York Islanders at the last spot in the Metropolitan Division with 22 points.

For a team with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson in the lineup, results should be much different.

Last night, in a game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins, Malkin, who repeated multiple times that he doesn't want to leave the Penguins despite a rebuild, showed signs of frustration.

He was standing near the Bruins bench when Nikita Zadorov poked him with his stick.

Malkin turned towards the Bruins bench and slashed Mason Lohrei to the head, hitting the wrong player by mistake.

Zadorov ended up getting a two-minute penalty, giving the Penguins a powerplay opportunity.

Watch how it all went down in the following video:

In a new development, the NHL's Department of Player Safety decided to punish Malkin for his actions.

Indeed, he'll need to pay a $5000 fine for the slash.

Here's the official statement from Player Safety:

Such small fines don't bother players. Suspensions are how the League can hurt players. Here, the League didn't believe Malkin deserved one despite hitting an innocent player.

While he probably tried to hit Zadorov, slashing players has consequences.

Sure, it was in the heat of the moment, and the level of frustration was high in Pittsburgh. But Malkin should've known better than hitting his opponent like that.

The Penguins are set to play their second of back-to-back games tonight against the Calgary Flames. Hopefully, players be able to build on their 2-1 win over the Bruins.