High stick? McDavid says so after video replay decision costs Oilers

Apr 22 2023, 6:03 am

Did he touch it? That’s what NHL video replay officials were trying to determine for more than five minutes after an apparent high stick by LA Kings forward Gabe Vilardi, scored seconds prior to Trevor Moore’s overtime winner to defeat the Edmonton Oilers.

If Vilardi’s stick had made contact with the puck, the goal should have been disallowed. After a lengthy video review, the NHL deemed that there wasn’t conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the ice.

Connor McDavid held his glove in the air, pointing to the alleged high stick in the moment.

After the game McDavid confirmed that he thought the play should have been blown dead.

“The puck goes in the air and it goes off his stick. So I call high stick. That’s what I saw on the ice. The play goes on, they score,” McDavid told reporters post-game. “They have that review in place for a reason. I guess they determined they couldn’t tell.”

 

Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft disagreed with the decision also.

“The greatest player in the world is two feet away as it happens, and his arm comes straight up in the air because he knows that it hit the stick. Otherwise he wouldn’t put his arm up in the air, he would keep playing,” Woodcroft said in his post-game media conference. “It appears to me in the video that the puck’s going straight up in the trajectory and deadens.”

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