In the final minute of play of Tuesday's game between the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers that the Rangers won 3-2, Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher appeared to deliver a sucker punch directly to the face of Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow.
Gallagher getting two minutes for roughing, a 10 minute misconduct, and a likely fine from @NHLPlayerSafety tomorrow morning. Stupid decision by him
— NHL Review (@nhl_review) November 17, 2021
Some may have expected Gallagher to receive at least a short suspension, but the NHL Department of Player Safety instead announced Wednesday he's been fined only $2,500 for "roughing" Goodrow.
That fine money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
"There was some acting going on there. A lot of players have too much pride to act like that," Gallagher said Wednesday about his fine and about Goodrow's alleged antics immediately following the incident, per Sportsnet.
— Damer (@Damer_99) November 17, 2021
As Arpon Basu noted for The Athletic, the NHL Department of Player Safety could've hit Gallagher with a maximum fine of $5,000, which suggests the league also didn't completely buy what Goodrow attempted to sell Tuesday night.
The Canadiens fell to 4-12-2 on the campaign via this latest defeat, so it's understandable Gallagher and his teammates may get easily frustrated during games this fall.
New York, meanwhile, recently lost forward Sammy Blais to a torn ACL in his right knee for at least the rest of the regular season.
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