Edmonton Oilers head coach defends McDavid after ugly cross-check
Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was quick to come to the defence of Connor McDavid following a match penalty on Saturday night.
The Oilers captain was given a major penalty in the dying seconds of the team’s 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. This was due to McDavid cross-checking Canucks forward Conor Garland in the head following a lengthy battle between the two in the middle of the Vancouver zone.
Connor McDavid was issued a match penalty on this play for cross-checking Conor Garland. pic.twitter.com/sB2Gpb3xAA
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 19, 2025
Garland held McDavid in that final minute but no penalty was called. This caused frustrations to flare and eventually landed the Oilers captain in hot water with what happened afterwards.
After the game, Knoblauch made sure to point out that McDavid had every right to be frustrated on the play.
“We’re down one goal and the best player in the league is getting held for 15 seconds,” Knoblauch said. “There’s frustration that’s allowed to happen.”
"We're down one goal & the best player in the league is getting held for 15 seconds. There's frustration that's allowed to happen."
Coach Knoblauch addresses the media following tonight's 3-2 #Oilers defeat in Vancouver.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/Mdgvft0ifK
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 19, 2025
This shouldn’t be seen as a complete defence of what McDavid did. It was not a great look for the Oilers captain, especially just two games after he was the subject of scrutiny for an elbow against Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson last week.Ā
Unlike that incident, it seems likely that McDavid will be disciplined for this play. He received a match penalty in the final minute of play, which is an automatic hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.Ā
The Canucks also look like they may also get a suspension coming their way as defenceman Tyler Myers was caught with a similar cross-check to the head of Evan Bouchard directly after that play. He was also given a match penalty and will also have a hearing.
Tyler Myers also received a match penalty for cross-checking Evan Bouchard. pic.twitter.com/9fk6jJHCx9
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 19, 2025
It’s a lock that if the NHL does suspend McDavid he will at least miss Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Capitals. The interesting bit will be if the league wants him to play in Thursday night’s rematch against the Canucks. A two-game suspension would wipe that out as a possibility.
This would be just the second suspension for McDavid since he entered the league. He was previously suspended for two games in 2019 for a check to the head of New York Islanders defenceman Nick Leddy.