Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers will have disciplinary hearings with the NHL—and are facing possible suspensions—for a pair of cross-checking penalties in the final seconds of Saturday's 3-2 win for the Canucks.
McDavid got tied up with Vancouver's Conor Garland and cross-checked him in the head, while Myers cross-checked Edmonton's Evan Bouchard. Both were penalized in the game.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch offered a defense of McDavid after the game, feeling as though the play should have been called dead far earlier due to McDavid being held by Garland.
"Connor gets frustrated, and he gets his stick up," he told reporters. "He's frustrated because we're down one goal and the best player in the league is getting held for 15 seconds. There's frustration that that's allowed to happen."
A number of former NHL players sided with McDavid as well:
"It's hockey. It happens. It's intense," fellow Oilers' star Leon Draisaitl told reporters. "We couldn't get one, and then a little bit of fisticuffs. Nothing major."
Losing McDavid for any stretch of time would be an enormous loss for Edmonton. The three-time Hart Trophy winner has posted 20 goals and 45 assists through 43 games this season, ranking fourth in the NHL with 65 points.
And he's generally available. Since 2016-17, McDavid has never missed more than seven games in a season. He's only been suspended once, a two-game ban in 2019 after checking New York Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy in the head. And before Saturday's 15 penalty minutes, he had only been penalized 14 minutes this season.
Meyers has had pair of three-game suspensions during his NHL career and 54 penalty minutes this season. He has two goals and 11 assists for the Canucks this season.
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