Leon Draisaitl speaks on avoiding suspension for hit against Barkov
In the last ten minutes of game 2, Leon Draisaitl threw a dirty hit which injured Aleksander Barkov, but Draisaitl luckily avoided suspension.
Speaking to the media today, Draisaitl was asked point-blank his thoughts on avoiding a suspension for the hit, and answered if he thought it was dirty.
I looked at it. First of all, I think we all know that I'm not a player that plays with intent to injure anybody by any means. I have no track record of that. I'm not a player that enjoys that part of the game, injuring other players or anything like that. I caught him in an unfortunate spot. So yeah, I'll leave it at that. Can't stress it enough, I'm not someone that plays the game of hockey wanting to injure anybody.
- Leon Draisaitl
- Leon Draisaitl
Draisaitl seemed to stress that the contact was mostly incidental, that he had no desire to hurt Barkov, but still admitted that it was delivered in an unfortunate spot.
While Barkov had his head down, Draisaitl came down the boards and lead with his hands while moving upward to make contact with Barkov's head. Barkov had to leave for the remaining ten minutes of the game, but will be in the lineup tonight.
Draisaitl recognizes Game 3 as a must win for the Edmonton Oilers
It's great news to hear Barkov is okay and will be in the lineup after taking this hard contact to the head, and honestly, it's great that Draisaitl is still in this series. For the quality of the game, no hockey fan wants to lose either superstar in the Stanley Cup Final. If this hit was in the regular season than perhaps Draisaitl would receive a one game suspension, but in the Cup Final with no prior history, a minor penalty is enough.
Leon Draisaitl also commented on the highly anticipated atmosphere of Rogers Place tonight, but keenly said the Oilers have to give the fans a reason to keep the building rocking.
Tonight's home game is an absolute must win for the Oilers if they want a real chance at coming back to win this series. It's hard to ever count out the Oilers after dragging themselves out of last place this season, but they have a tall task ahead of them right now. Tonight needs to be the first step.
Source: Edmonton Oilers
Draisaitl speaks on avoiding league discipline.
| POLL | ||
Do you think it was the right decision not to suspend Draisaitl for the hit on Barkov? | ||
| Yes, no suspension was the right choice | 261 | 70.5 % |
| No, he needed to be suspended, it was bad | 97 | 26.2 % |
| See Results | 12 | 3.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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