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.

The melee began late in the second period when Wilson hit Jake Evans, prompting retaliation from Ivan Demidov. Xhekaj and Wilson then tried to engage but were separated by officials. Moments later, Josh Anderson fought Wilson at the Capitals’ bench, leading to game misconducts and additional roughing penalties.

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