Edmonton is crying foul over the suspension of superstar Connor McDavid, even calling it “mind-blowing.” Don’t think Thursday’s game will be a calm one by any stretch.
In the biz, it’s called fishing. Throw a bit of bait out there in the former of a loaded question, and see if you can reel something juicy and delicious in.
“Why?”
“Two guys are going to be out for the game … but there’s two good teams that have played each other a lot lately, and looking to win a hockey game. So I don’t think there’s overly much to it, in my books.”
“Yeah, three games each. It’s not my job to comment on them,” he said. “Obviously it’s a big loss for us. Mysie is a great player for us. And someone will have to step up tonight.”
The bait was cast repeatedly at the Oilers availability on Tuesday, and there were a few nibbles, but no overly salacious sound bites.
“I think it’s way too high. But I don’t think me standing here and thinking stuff is going to help the situation,” said Oilers D-man Mattias Ekholm.
“It’s just mind-blowing to me how it can come to three games. But that’s the decision they made, and we have to to live with it.”
“I don’t think I can,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch offered with a chuckle when asked to give his thoughts on the suspension of his star player.
And the Oilers are probably happy that it brings some attention to the supposed ongoing maltreatment he’s experiencing.
For the last five seasons, has the puck on his stick in the offensive zone more than any other player in the league. He’s never been lower than fourth in that stat since they began tracking in his sophomore season.
But in 2020-2024, he was second, first, first and fifth in number of penalties drawn. This year, he’s 47th.
So they may, we must concede, have a point. Garland’s affection for him at the end of Saturday’s game as the clock ticked down was a continuous span of harassment. And at any other point of the game, the refs might not have swallowed their whistle.
“Maybe not quite enough,” Draisaitl said, when asked if superstar players get enough attention from the refs.
“Because to me, that’s just common sense. … When you have the puck, guys are trying to defend, and Connor has the puck an awful lot, and more than anyone, probably right? So (there) should probably be more penalties called on him or the top players.
“That, to me, is clearly a penalty. He’s trying to get back into the play. Connor doesn’t want to tangle with Garland in that situation, there’s 12 seconds left. We’re looking to score, like we’re not looking to tangle with anybody.
“I also know the game happens quick, and that’s just, you know, like the refs aren’t gonna make the right call every single time — I understand that. But in that instance, I think that could have been avoided … It doesn’t make much sense to me, but I’m not the guy to make these decisions.”
This is the second time McDavid has been suspended, getting sidelined in 2019 after he took the head off NY Islanders’ blueliner Nick Leddy. Myers will also miss Thursday’s rematch for his cross-check to the dome of Oilers’ Evan Bouchard in fracas that followed McDavid’s transgression.
“I certainly think three games is a little too much — for either side,” said Draisaitl. “But, yeah, I guess we don’t overly care about having our best players in the league in the game, so I’ll leave it at that.”