After a chaotic ending to the Canucks vs. Oilers game on Saturday night in Vancouver, the NHL Player Safety Department held hearings today regarding the match penalties assessed for cross-checking to the heads of Tyler Myers and Connor McDavid. They’ve announced a three-game suspension for both players.
In the dying seconds of that game, with the Oilers trailing 3-2 and desperately trying to tie things up, McDavid found himself embroiled in a scuffle with Conor Garland in the Oilers’ offensive zone. Garland was holding McDavid down for a ridiculous ten seconds, even yanking him to the ice multiple times, yet somehow, the referees didn’t call a single penalty.
It’s baffling that no call was made, and understandably, McDavid retaliated with a cross-check to Garland’s face. That sparked an all-out brawl with just two seconds left on the clock. Meanwhile, in a separate altercation near the boards, Tyler Myers delivered a cross-check to Evan Bouchard right in the chops. It’s hard to argue against the suspensions for both players; their actions were out of line, but this whole situation would have been avoided if the officials had done their job and penalized Garland initially for holding McDavid.
In my opinion, the NHL really needs to step up its protection for star players. If this trend continues, it seems the league’s top talents may have to start taking things into their own hands.
The Oilers will now take on the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night at home without their captain, Connor McDavid, and will face Vancouver later on Thursday and then Buffalo. It is now time for Leon Draisaitl to once again step up without McDavid on the ice.
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