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.

If the answer is “no,” that’s OK. Montreal nearly backed its way into the playoffs and the Washington Capitals hit a rough patch of their own. Still, this matchup brings a whole bunch of juice — the most prolific goal scorer of all time, the East’s top team and the return of postseason hockey to one of the sport’s true epicenters.

The brawl that broke out between the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens caught the attention of the NHL.