There’s nothing better than a good old fight to rekindle the flame of a rivalry. Brendan Gallagher and Tim Stützle wrote another chapter in history between the Canadiens and the Senators on Tuesday at the Bell Centre.
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After CH’s 6-3 loss to the Senators, Gallagher accused Stützle of playing comedy. The right winger had a lot on his heart at a press conference.
Stützle, however, does not have a bionic knee. Two days after that incident, the 20-year-old center was missed when the Nashville Predators visited Ottawa.
DJ Smith, the head coach of the Sens, had mentioned Thursday morning that his presence was compromised due to a knee injury, the result of the collision with Nick Suzuki.
Photo Martin Chevalier
Brendan Gallagher had a run-in with Tim Stützle during the game between the Ottawa Senators and the Canadiens on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
Theater
With the absence of Stützle, Gallagher could change his speech a bit. Let’s remember the facts.
Late in the second period, Suzuki hit Stützle behind Anton Forsberg’s net with his knee out.
After the shock, Stützle collapsed on the ice, writhing in pain. He was holding his left knee.
The third overall pick in the 2020 draft, however, managed to get up a few seconds after the arrival of the Senators trainer. He was on the ice from the next shift while Suzuki watched the scene from the bench.
“When I was ten, my coach had a rule. If you’re lying on the ice and a coach has to pick you up, that means you’re too injured to play. You had to miss at least the next three shifts, Gallagher said. He is an excellent player. I’ve been dealing with it for two years now. In at least half of his games he lay on the ice and came back on the ice for the next shift. There are children watching, we must serve as role models. If I was his teammate, I would tell him to be smarter. »
Foolish
Smith logically does not have the same vision as the small number 11 of the Habs.
According to him, it is nonsense to claim that Stützle acted out when he hit Suzuki.
“I respect Gallagher as a player, but we’re going to let the referees and the league do their job,” he said. Clearly Timmy was shaken up and we’ll see what happens next. […] Now I don’t see it that way. A reputation isn’t built on what a guy said. »