The NHL announced on Tuesday evening that Montreal Canadiens forward Brandon Prust has been fined $5,000 for public comments directed at referee Brad Watson following Montreal's Game 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Prust was assessed 31 penalty minutes during the game, 27 of which came late in the third period during a sequence that saw him be penalized for tripping Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, getting into a fight with Braydon Coburn and throwing his elbow pad at the Tampa Bay bench. Earlier in the game he was penalized for tripping Coburn and then received an additional unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on top of that. Following the game, he ripped into Watson during his postgame media availability, saying that the refereee kept provoking him by calling him "every name in the book."
He then said Watson tries to "play God and tries to control the game."
On Tuesday, the NHL responded with the fine.
"Brandon Prust's postgame comments were both baseless and demeaning of a referee whose 20-year career in the League has been marked by professionalism, integrity and a high degree of respect from players, coaches and management," NHL senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell said in a statement released by the league.
Prust issued an apology for his comments hours before the fine was officially handed out.
"First off I'd like to apologize to Brad Watson and the rest of the officials in the NHL," Prust said. "If I caused any embarrassment or headaches, it was uncalled for. We got in a heated exchange that should've stayed between us.
"I've always played by the code on and off the ice. I'm a pretty honest player. Sometimes I cross the line. It was tough, it was emotional. I just got into a fight, I just threw my elbow pad at their bench, we just lost 6-2 and five minutes later we had to go interviews. I wasn't myself. I was agitated. I'm an emotional player. I always have been. Usually I use it to my advantage, but on Sunday I didn't."
