Montreal Canadiens veteran Brendan Gallagher has accused Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stützle of embellishing injuries, calling the alleged behaviour "embarrassing."
Gallagher spoke out about Stützle laying on the ice, seemingly injured, after Ottawa beat the Habs 6-3 in Montreal on Tuesday night.
"When I was 10 years old, our coach had a rule: if you lay on the ice and the trainers, or if the coach had to come on the ice to get you, you're too hurt to play minimum three shifts," said Gallagher.
"More than half the games we've played against him, he's laid on the ice and is right back out there the next shift."
The 20-year-old Stützle is in his second NHL season. He has 15 goals and 28 assists over 68 games for the Senators this campaign with a minus-27 rating.
Gallagher, who has played all 10 seasons with Montreal, noted that he's played against Stützle over a dozen times since the Senators forward came to the NHL.
"More than half the games we've played against him, he's laid on the ice and is right back out there next shift. He lays on the ice, he acts like he's hurt, he sells the call, he's on the ice that same power play," said Gallagher. "There's kids watching, we're role models, and if I was a teammate of his I'd tell him to smarten up.
"It's just not a good look. Very talented player, very good players, he needs to stop laying on the ice. It's embarrassing."
The Canadiens visit Ottawa on April 23.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2022.
The Canadian Press
