Nikita Zadorov fined maximum $5,000 after heated clash with Alex Vlasic

Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov has been fined for roughing Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic, NHL Player Safety announced Sunday.

The call comes a day after Boston beat Chicago 5-4 in overtime on Saturday night. It was a game with plenty of heat on both sides of the puck.

Notice what it is and what it isn't. A fine means no suspension, so the league saw a roughing play that deserved a financial hit and nothing more.

Zadorov finished the night with 14 penalty minutes in 15:02 of ice time. He did not register a shot on goal.

NHL Player Safety stated that the $5,000 is the maximum allowable under the CBA.

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Vlasic was in the middle of it too. He logged 23:15, fired six shots on goal, went minus-1 and picked up 6 penalty minutes in the overtime loss.

Boston and Chicago had a date circled well before puck drop, as we noted in Nikita Zadorov and Connor Bedard's collision course. Bedard finished with a goal and an assist and six shots on goal.

Zadorov's penalty minutes keep piling up for Boston

The 14 minutes Saturday matter because of where they leave his season total. Zadorov now sits at 47 penalty minutes through 14 games, and he still owns four assists and a +6 rating.

A maximum fine that small is a slap on the wrist for a player carrying that PIM total. If the league wants to send a message about this kind of play, $5,000 is not how you send it.

The Bruins are 10-4-1 and sit first in the Atlantic Division. They host the Golden Knights on Monday, and Marco Sturm will not have to rework his blue line over this one.

Chicago has a tougher road. The Blackhawks are 4-9-1, winless away from home at 0-5-1, and they host Colorado on Monday with two straight losses behind them.

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