"Ban him from league" "F***ing joke": NHL fans react as Capitals' Tom Wilson & Canadiens' Josh Anderson get fined $5,000 each following fight on bench

Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson and Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson have each been fined $5,000, the maximum amount allowed under the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced the fines on Saturday.

This resulted from an incident that happened during Game 3 on Friday in Montreal. It took place at the end of the second period when a brawl erupted near the benches. Arber Xhekaj first had a tussle with Wilson, and other players got involved. The referees pulled Xhekaj and Wilson apart, but Josh Anderson fought Wilson just seconds later, taking the fight into the bench area.

Both players received a minor penalty for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct. The fines are for unsportsmanlike conduct. The NHL Player Safety account posted about the fines on X, confirming Wilson’s fine first, followed by Anderson’s.

"Montreal’s Josh Anderson has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for unsportsmanlike conduct during last night’s game against Washington," NHL Player Safety tweeted.

Fans reacted to it and shared their thoughts in the comments section.

"Ban him from the league," one fan said.

"This league is a f***ing joke," a fan wrote.

"A fight that goes into the bench and almost injures a linesman(who should have let go)...and no suspensions??" another fan wrote.

Here are more fan reactions:

"In all seriousness if the NHL wants more eyes watching their product they probably shouldn’t be punishing players for that. It’s just angry passionate hockey. Don’t make the game softer then it naturally is" a fan commented.

"There’s no way man. How is taking the fight onto the benches with coaches and linesman not a suspension… what the hell lol" another fan wrote.

"Blame the refs of the first two games who closed their eyes on too many penalties. That’s why it got to that point. Awful job by the NHL," one fan said.

Montreal Canadiens dominated the Caps in their comeback effort

The Montreal Canadiens made a strong comeback in Game 3 on Friday after losing the first two games. They won 6-3 and cut the Capitals' series lead to 2-1. Christian Dvorak, Juraj Slafkovsky, Alex Newhook, Cole Caufield, Alexandre Carrier and Nick Suzuki scored for Montreal.

Meanwhile, Connor McMichael, Jakob Chychrun and Alex Ovechkin were Washington's goal scorers. However, the Canadiens scored three straight goals in the third period to pull away. Jakub Dobes replaced Sam Montembeault and made key saves, while Washington’s goalie, Logan Thompson, left with an injury. Game 4 will be a pivotal matchup, which could set the tone for the rest of the series.