MONTREAL — The NHL has punished the main combatants in a bench-clearing altercation in Friday night’s playoff game between the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals.Capitals forward Tom Wilson and Canadiens forward Josh Anderson were each fined $5,000 by the league.It’s the maximum allowable under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement.Wilson and Montreal defenseman Arber Xhekaj were pushing and shoving each other as time expired in the second period.Anderson intervened before falling backward into Washington’s bench, which had a door open.The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Wilson followed the 6-foot-3, 226-pound Anderson in and charged through a linesman toward the Canadiens winger before a roaring crowd at Bell Centre.Both Anderson and Wilson were assessed a minor penalty for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct for the fight.Their fine money goes to the players’ emergency assistance fund.

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day our writers here at Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out.

While fans wait for an official update on Thompson, the NHL made an announcement regarding the Capitals-Canadiens playoff series on Saturday.