Mathew Barzal fined $2,000 by NHL for diving/embellishment

Mathew Barzal has been fined 2,000 for diving/embellishment, the NHL announced on Thursday.

The Islanders forward was flagged a second time after last Thursday’s game against the Capitals. Barzal reached for Carl Hagelin’s stick as it was in Barzal’s midsection and fell to the ice early in the second period.

During a Jan. 30 game against the Flyers, Barzal was flagged for diving/embellishment for the first time. This second offense is what triggered the league to slap him with the $2,000 fine.

From the NHL:

Citations are issued by the National Hockey League Hockey Operations Department, which tracks all games, logs all penalties for diving or embellishment, and flags all plays not called on the ice that in its opinion were deserving of such a penalty. A Citation is issued once Hockey Operations, through its internal deliberations, is convinced that a player warrants sanction.

According to NHL Rule 64, a player will be warned following a single offense. Once he does it again, the fines begin. Should Barzal be spotted a third time, he’ll be dinged $3,000. When team collectively hits five diving/embellishment offenses for players, that’s when head coaches start getting hit in the wallet.

Citation / Player Fine / Head Coach Fine
1 - Warning - N/A
2 - $2,000 - N/A
3 - $3,000 - N/A
4 - $4,000 - N/A
5 - $5,000 - $2,000
6 - $5,000 - $3,000
7 - $5,000 - $4,000
8 - $5,000 - $5,000

All fine money goes to benefit the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at [e-mail] or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.