In case you missed the battle of the basement dwellers last night, the Arizona Coyotes snapped their 14-game losing streak with a win over the struggling Ottawa Senators. They even added insult to injury by showing the Sens how to ice the game with an empty netter without looking like massive dorks.
While it was clear that many on the Sens' bench were less than ecstatic during the game, the temper tantrum of the night award has to go to Tim Stutzle, who took a stick to the face from Yotes defenceman Michael Kesselring after falling down in the Coyotes' net front area.
In fairness, he did get hit pretty good, but Kesselring's stick was on the ice and he was just trying to clear the puck, Stutzle's face simply got in the way. It's difficult to see any scenario where a referee is going to call a high stick on that play. In the future, maybe Stutzle should try to stay on his feet or avoid flailing down on the ice in a high-traffic area. That does seem like a tall order for the NHL's undisputed diving champion, though.
Stutzle immediately threw a massive fit. In fact, he looked to be nearly in tears as he berated both the referees and the Coyotes while his training staff tended to his bruised face. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do for his bruised ego.
