Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid will have a hearing with the NHL’s department of player safety.
The hearing will take place on Monday, per player safety.
The Oilers’ captain was handed a match penalty Saturday after he cross-checked Canucks winger Conor Garland in the head late in Edmonton’s 3-2 loss to Vancouver.
A match penalty is given when officials determine a player has intentionally injured — or tried to injure — an opponent. The sanction carries an automatic suspension until the NHL’s commissioner weighs in.
With less than 20 seconds left on the game clock and the Oilers looking to equalize, Garland poked the puck off McDavid’s stick and both players fell to the ice. The pair wrestled for a moment, then got up before Garland once again took down the marquee centre and tried to prevent him from getting back to his feet.
“I’m just holding him. I mean, he’s the best player to ever do it. So, the time’s running out. And I just thought that was maybe the best way for us to win a game was to do that,” Garland said of the battle. “I don’t want to hurt him.”
As the pair separated, McDavid slammed his stick into Garland’s head.
“Absolutely, there’s a rivalry and Connor gets frustrated. He gets his stick up, and he’s frustrated because we’re down one goal and the best player in the league is getting held for 15 seconds,” Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “And there’s frustration that’s allowed to happen, and the stick got up, and yeah, so that’s what happened.”
Several skaters from each side responded by jumping into a skirmish in front of the Canucks’ net. Pushing and shoving ensued as officials worked to pull players apart.
“I get crushed in the head, so our team rushes to defend that, right? And that’s what good teams do,” Garland said.
As McDavid was led off the ice, Garland and Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl exchanged heated words — and shoves — along the end boards.
“It’s hockey, it happens. It’s intense, it’s just the way it goes sometimes,” Draisaitl said of the game’s final moments. “Obviously, couldn’t get (a goal) and then a little bit of fisticuffs, but nothing major.”
–With files from the Canadian Press
