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NHL fines Sabres troublemaker Patrick Kaleta for failed headbutt on Travis Zajac

Sabres Wrapup Hockey

Buffalo Sabres’ Patrick Kaleta talks to reporters as the NHL hockey team cleans out their lockers, Wednesday, April 28, 2010, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

AP

When it comes to pesky players such as Buffalo Sabres pest Patrick Kaleta, there’s a fine line between doing your job (frustrating opponents into penalties) and hurting your own team by taking bad penalties. There are times when such tomfoolery just falls flat on its face, though.

Wednesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils provided a good example of both, as he attempted (but apparently failed) to headbutt Devils forward Travis Zajac during an altercation. Zajac responded enough that he was given a roughing major, though, showing that Kaleta’s madness has its benefits.

That being said, the league didn’t appreciate his transgressions. TSN reports that the NHL fined Kaleta for his bad deeds, although there is no word on the size of the fine.

There’s no video of the Kaleta headbutt miss, but here is a quick description of the incident from TSN.

Late in the first period, Kaleta and Zajac clashed in front of the New Jersey bench. Kaleta leaned in towards Zajac and tried to make contact using his head. He missed and was pushed over by Zajac, who was then assessed a minor penalty for roughing.