Coyotes’ Michael Kesselring fined over $2,400 for cross-checking Lightning’s Maxwell Crozier

The incident occurred midway through Arizona and Tampa Bay’s game on Thursday night. After Coyotes’ forward Lawson Crouse scored to make it 6-3 Lightning, Kesselring cross-checked Crozier to the ice, then cross-checked him again, causing a melee in front of the Tampa net. Crozier and Crouse ended up fighting.

Kesselring received a double-minor and a 10-minute misconduct for the incident. Crozier and Crouse received five-minute majors for fighting.

The Lightning ended up winning the game 6-3.

The 24-year-old Kesselring is in his first full NHL campaign after spending most of the past three seasons with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Through 30 games, Kesselring has four goals and seven assists for 11 points and 32 penalty minutes, averaging 14:03 of ice time.

Taken in the sixth round by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Kesselring was traded to the Coyotes, along with a third-round pick, in exchange for Nick Bjugstad and Cam Dineed in March 2023. In 141 career AHL games, Kesselring had 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points and 113 penalty minutes.

The Coyotes are 23-21-3 with 49 points, sixth in the Central Division and four points behind the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators for one of the Western Conference’s two Wild Card spots.

Their next game is their last before the All-Star break, playing Saturday on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes. After the break, they host the defending Stanley Cup-champion Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 8, then travel to Tennessee to face the Predators on Feb. 10.