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Following the NHL announcement of the suspension and fine handed to Carson Soucy and Nikita Zadorov respectively for their cross-checking of Connor McDavid, the three players involved in the postgame fracas broke the silence and discussed the altercation ahead of Game 4 between the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
The league fined Zadorov $5,000 and suspended Soucy for one game making him miss Game 4. The NHL, however, didn’t punish McDavid. All three players spoke to reporters ahead of Game 4.
Zadorov opened up on the NHL’s final decisions involving himself, teammate Soucy, and Oilers superstar McDavid.
“[Soucy] is a big part of the team, obviously it’s a big loss for us,” Zadorov told reporters on Tuesday, May 14, ahead of Game 4. “My thought on that? I mean, I have been thinking for a couple of days. Unfortunately, that’s the world we live in.
“Sometimes, social media and public views can create some hard decisions for specific people and might make questionable decisions at the end of the day. That’s how I look at it.
“At the end of the day, they have to protect their investment. That’s my understanding of this situation, for sure.” “It’s a hockey play, there’s a lot of sticks, it’s hard to see over there and there was no intention to hurt anyone. I saw my teammate get slashed and I had to step in there, like I have been for 11 years.”
Carson Soucy Makes His Case, Connor McDavid Accepts “Heated Series”
The Oilers defeated the Canucks 3-2 on Tuesday, May 14, tying the second series at 2-2 and turning it into a best-of-three matchup.
Soucy couldn’t help the Canucks on Tuesday’s defeat following the one-game suspension the NHL gave him.
McDavid, on the other hand, avoided getting fined and suspended while assisting the first Oilers goal in Game 4, one scored by Leon Draisaitl 11:10 into the first period of Tuesday’s contest.
Soucy told reporters Monday, May 13, that he didn’t intend to cause an injury to Oilers’ McDavid with his hit. When speaking to the media, however, Soucy had yet to hear from the NHL about his suspension.
“Just kind of waiting on a decision now,” Soucy said. “Ultimately, it’s up to [the NHL and the Department of Player Safety]. Obviously, it’s just an unfortunate incident due to some timing, that’s really kind of all I’d like to say on it.
“Obviously, there wasn’t intent to get a player up that high, so I kind of just think… unfortunate incident. I hope we can just leave it at that, hopefully.
“Just emotions run high in those scrums at the end of the game.”
McDavid also addressed the postgame action when talking to reporters following Edmonton’s morning practice on Monday, May 13. He didn’t comment on the particular hits he delivered or received.
“I feel great, I mean, it’s a tough game,” McDavid said. “They’ve got big D-men that make it hard on you. They play physical, a physical brand of hockey, and it’s fun to be a part of, fun series to be a part of.
“Two Canadian teams going at it, a lot of passion. Yeah, it’s just part of a heated series.”
Oilers Take Game 4 Over Canucks, Series Tied at 2-2
The end of Game 3 and the aftermath of the exchange between McDavid and the pair of Canucks players didn’t change anything for Edmonton. Trailing the series 1-2 entering Game 4, the Oilers faced a tough challenge and a near-win situation if they didn’t want to fall to a precarious 1-3 in the second round.
The Oilers’ faithful had to wait until the very final seconds to breathe a sigh of relief, but Edmonton scored the go-ahead goal with less than 40 seconds left and defeated the Canucks on Tuesday, May 14, to even the series at 2-2.
The Oilers took a 2-0 lead with goals by Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the first and second periods respectively but they allowed back-to-back goals to Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua in the third period.
Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard made his first postseason start and won it saving 19 of 21 shots. In the other net, rookie Arturs Silovs stopped 27 of 30 for the Canucks.
Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday, May 16, as the series returns to Vancouver before getting back to Edmonton for Game 6 two days after that in what could be the final contest of the second-round matchup between the two Canadian franchises.
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