Connor McDavid may have finished Wednesday’s game with two goals and an assist, but ask some of the Minnesota Wild and they’ll say he should have finished with a few extra penalty minutes as well.
The Edmonton Oilers captain got away with a stray elbow at the end of the second period that injured Wild forward Marcus Johansson, who did not return to the game with an upper-body injury. Teammate Jake Middleton didn’t mince words when asked about the chicken-wing that sidelined the second-line winger in a tied game.
“It’s horse—-,” the defenceman complained, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Middleton also claims that if that elbow had been made by teammates Ryan Hartman or Marcus Foligno, the outcome would have been different. “I don’t care if it’s the best player in the world.”
McDavid has twice received suspensions in the NHL — two games in 2019 and six games in 2023 — and has been fined on multiple occasions.
Fellow Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek was also asked about the collision post-game and said he didn’t see it, but asked on-ice officials what happened. Per Eriksson Ek, the referees told him that Johansson’s own stick caught him in the face, though video replays clearly show McDavid’s elbow making contact with the side of Johansson’s face.
McDavid went on to score the Oilers’ fifth goal midway through the third to seal the win, marking his 1,044th point and passing Jarri Kurri on the Oilers’ all-time point leader list.
The Oilers won the game 5-3.
