Bob Frid-Imagn Images
The dying seconds of the contest between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks were violent.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers received match penalties for cross-checking. They will both have hearing with NHL Player Safety. McDavid cross-checked Canucks right winger Conor Garland, while Myers struck Oilers D-man Evan Bouchard.
The Canucks were holding onto a 3-2 lead while the Oilers had the goalie pulled and had the extra attacker.
McDavid received the puck from Bouchard at the point. He attempted to get around Garland but blocked him off, forcing McDavid to fall on him. Garland wrestled McDavid for about 10 seconds before getting on their feet.
While that was happening, Edmonton continued to search for an equalizer. Leon Draisaitl fired two shots toward goal but were both blocked by Canucks center Elias Pettersson.
Once they found their balance, McDavid threw a cross-check to Garland’s head, and the Canucks right winger hit the ice. It drew a large crowd and multiple shoving matches.
Off to the side of the scrum were Bouchard and Myers squaring off before the Canucks D-man gave the Oilers blueliner a high cross-check.
Per the NHL rulebook, a match penalty is imposed “on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner.”
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch took exception with Garland’s actions on McDavid before the cross-check.
“We’re down one goal, and the best player in the league is getting held for 15 seconds,” Knoblauch told reporters after the game. “There’s frustration that’s allowed to happen.”
Tocchet, meanwhile, had a bit less to say about the scrum after his team held on to win 3-2.
“I haven’t looked at the video,” Tocchet told reporters. “Obviously, there was a couple of match penalties, so we’ll have to take a look at that. It’s out of our control. It’s the league’s stuff.”
McDavid has been involved in a few controversial exchanges over his last handful of games. On Jan. 13 against the Los Angeles Kings, the Oilers captain was on the receiving end of a slew foot from Adrian Kempe. The Kings’ left winger was handed a $5,000 fine.
In Edmonton’s game against the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday, McDavid elbowed Marcus Johansson, forcing the veteran to leave the game. Minnesota defenseman Jake Middleton wasn’t happy with the no-call and said, “I don’t care if it’s the best player in the world.”
McDavid was previously suspended two games in February 2019 for an illegal check on Nick Leddy, who was playing for the New York Islanders at the time.
Myers, meanwhile, was suspended for three games in 2012 for boarding the Montreal Canadiens’ Scott Gomez. He was then suspended another three games in 2014 for a high hit on the New Jersey Devils’ Danius Zubrus.
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