"You can seriously injure someone": Oilers' Draisaitl speaks on Pietrangelo slash

Leon Draisaitl is not a fan of the slash he took from Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Alex Pietrangelo on Wednesday night.

With less than two minutes to go in Game 4 and the Oilers leading 4-1, Draisaitl put a shot just wide of the Golden Knights’ empty net before taking a chop on the arm from Pietrangelo. The play resulted in a five-minute major, and the NHL’s Department of Player Safety (DoPS) has since announced that the veteran defenceman will have a hearing later today.

“That’s a really, really dangerous slash,” Draisaitl told reporters. “I think those are things that have nothing to do with hockey or the game. You can seriously injure someone with a slash like that. I’m sure the league will take a look at it.”

Pietrangelo’s frustrations can likely be boiled down to the fact that he has taken several big shots throughout this series, most notably a questionable hit from Evander Kane just shifts prior to the incident in question.

"When we pressure teams we are a tough group to handle."

Leon Draisaitl speaks at @RogersPlace before the #Oilers head to Vegas. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/H6q7AmxztL

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 11, 2023

Thankfully for Oilers fans, Draisaitl appears no worse for wear. The 27-year-old currently leads playoff scoring with 13 goals and 18 points through 10 games.

“Ya, it was ugly. We’ll see what happens, but it’s alright,” Draisaitl said when asked how his arm felt after Thursday afternoon’s practice.

While a decision has yet to have been made regarding Pietrangelo, the NHL’s DoPS did announce earlier in the day that Darnell Nurse has been handed a one-game suspension for an instigating penalty that occurred in the final five minutes of play. The 28-year-old charged into the Golden Knights zone with seconds remaining on the clock to engage in a fight with Nic Hague and was assessed a two-minute minor for instigating along with a five-minute major for fighting at the time of the incident.

The temperatures are now very ramped up in this series and should continue to rise on Friday night when these two get set to play at the T-Mobile Arena.

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