Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid spoke out after a controversial no-call on an elbow to Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson during the Oilers' 5-3 win on Wednesday night.
The incident occurred late in the second period when Johansson was attempting to maneuver around McDavid to reach the puck. Replays showed McDavid extending his elbow, catching Johansson in the head.
Johansson went down and had to leave ice eventually. The Wild have since announced that he had suffered an upper-body injury and didn't return. When asked about the play on NHL TNT, McDavid said:
"Look, it’s unfortunate, and I hope he is okay, obviously not trying to hurt anybody out there, just try to go through there. Very unfortunate, and I hope he is alright.”
The referees, specifically Chris Lee, claimed that Johansson was hit by his own stick on the play, which drew an angry response from Wild coach John Hynes:
“I don’t even want to go down that road, because it will probably infuriate you more than it infuriates me right now.So I am just going to bypass that. Similar to the other game, not a good answer. Let me put it that way.”
Wild defenseman Jake Middleton also weighed in, calling the non-call:
“horses**t.”
He suggested that a Wild player would have been penalized had they committed the same hit on McDavid.
“What do you think happens? I understand the refs have a hard job,but that was chicken. I don't care that he's the best player in the world.”
The NHL's Department of Player Safety is yet to comment on whether the incident will be reviewed for supplementary discipline.
Connor McDavid moves up on Oilers' all-time scoring list
With a standout performance on Wednesday night, picking up two goals and an assist, Connor McDavid climbed to second place on the Oilers' all-time scoring list.
The 28-year-old captain now has 1,044 points in 686 games with the Oilers, surpassing Jari Kurri's mark of 1,043 points as the franchise's second highest scorer.
McDavid's coach Kris Knoblauch praised his superstar's latest achievement.
“I’ve seen so many remarkable things from him. He’s a tremendous player and great teammate. I said I wouldn’t be surprised anymore just because he surprises you so often over these years, but it’s a nice feat for him and the guys are very proud of him," Knoblauch said post-game.
Only the legendary Wayne Gretzky remains ahead of Connor McDavid, with 1,669 points compiled over 696 games in an Oilers uniform.