Canucks' Connor Garland dared referees to make a move before McDavid match penalty
Canucks forward Connor Garland was on the receiving end of a hard cross check to the face from Connor McDavid, but he doesn't exactly see himself as a victim.
Connor McDavid and Tyler Myers will have hearings with Player Safety today regarding their cross checks in last night's game, that got out of hand due to incompetent refs.
Connor Garland Takes Responsibility for Antagonizing McDavid Before Match Penalty Cross Check
Speaking to the media after the game, Connor Garland practically admitted that he mobbed McDavid in an attempt to stop Edmonton's best player.
He's a passionate guy. He's a good dude. I mean, I don't think he was just his passion. It's a tight game late in the game. Everybody has the fire in their belly trying to win a hockey game.
- Connor Garland
Garland knows that what he did should've been called a penalty immediately, but also that it wouldn't have mattered much in the final seconds of the game.
He resorted to a cheap play to pin McDavid down to the ice, and the understandable response is that the Oilers star would be frustrated.
Garland comments hint toward acknowledgment that refereeing was atrocious
It wasn't just the end of the game that the referees missed or ignored obvious penalty calls either
Garland was essentially daring the referees to call a penalty while the Oilers had possession of the puck, knowing they wouldn't. The NHL rules state that the refs can stop the play immediately for a penalty, but they didn't choose to make that call.
Had the referees properly made the call, the Oilers potentially could've tied the game, McDavid wouldn't have cross checked Garland, and Myers wouldn't have cross checked Bouchard. A brutal mistake from the refs at a critical time set the game off.
Connor McDavid is currently on pace to draw the least amount of penalties in his career. It's not like he's taking less infractions, so an outburst from the captain like this may have been coming.
Hockey fans, players, and teams deserve better officiating than this. If this play were to ever occur in the playoffs it may be chalked up to 'playoff hockey', but who wants to see the best player in the world get suspended instead of score?
Player Safety will take action against McDavid for this incident, but the reflection needs to be on the NHL for this event - less so on the Oilers captain.
