Stars' Esa Lindell defends himself against diving accusations

Dallas Stars defenceman Esa Lindell made a name for himself Monday and not in a good way, as his on-ice theatrics caught the attention of the entire hockey world.

Lindell entered a brief skirmish with St. Louis Blues defenceman Robert Bortuzzo and repeatedly fell over. Bortuzzo grew frustrated at the blatant fabrication, eventually checked Lindell one more time, and the Stars’ defenceman flopped so hard, you would think he morphed into Luis Suarez.

The 24-year-old defended himself against the notion that he dove Tuesday.

“He crossed at me hard. I wasn’t expecting him to come hard again. I’m not that kind of player. There’s nothing I can change anymore or affect what happened yesterday. I’m already focused on tomorrow,” Lindell said to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic.

Bortuzzo received a two-minute minor for cross-checking while Lindell was sent to the box for embellishment.

Lindell clearly believes he shouldn’t be the only one at fault.

“Well, they called us both, so I guess we both did something there,” Lindell said.

As it turns out, Lindell’s flair for the dramatic may have worked against him in the long run. Lindell fell over after getting nudged by Blues forward Patrick Maroon, who retrieved the puck and buried the game-winning goal, as his opponent failed to get to his feet in time.

We don’t want to speculate here but perhaps Lindell will be sturdier on his feet as the Blues hold a 2-1 series lead against the Stars ahead of Thursday’s Game 4.

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