Rick Tocchet makes his feelings clear on Oilers fans' reception of Conor Garland following Connor McDavid's suspension

Vancouver Canucks winger Conor Garland will probably draw the ire of Edmonton Oilers fans' ire in Thursday’s game after they were left incensed following the teams’ earlier controversial face-off on Saturday.

With 19 seconds to go and Vancouver leading 3-2, Garland held down Oilers captain Connor McDavid, prompting the latter to cross-check him with a stick to the face.

McDavid has been banned from playing for three games for his infraction, which is the reason Garland is the least popular person in Edmonton right now.

Canucks coach Rick Tocchet, while speaking to the media on Wednesday after team practice, downplayed the fan’s anger and talk about Garland and "wanted posters" in Edmonton.

“He held the guy. So, is that wanted posters? I mean, I understand if he smashed him in the face, or got in a fight or did something. It's a hold,” Tocchet said.

“It's not going to deter him (Conor) to go into the corners and in front of the neck. He needs his teammates to be there right behind him …We need two points. There's no vengeance; I mean it's just two points for us."

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, in his column "32 Thoughts" on Wednesday, also weighed in on McDavid’s three-game ban and how it would affect the team’s upcoming games.

“I was talking with another executive who said the Oilers and their opponents will be on high alert for how games are called in the aftermath,” Friedman wrote. “Do the Oilers get more power plays? Is there any bias against them? Teams worry about overcompensation.”

Connor McDavid says the penalty for cross-checking Conor Garland "harsh" but needed

Connor McDavid addressed the issue of his suspension while speaking to the media after skating with his team on Wednesday. The Oilers captain said that while he might not agree with the harshness of the sentence, he understood that some punishment was required.

“Might be a little bit harsh, but I understand their decision and we move on,” McDavid said. "I can't have that reaction, obviously. I know that, everyone knows that. Not the reaction that I'm proud of, or that anyone wants to see out of me and I understand that.”

After his swipe with the stick in Saturday’s game, the Edmonton center was immediately ejected and assessed a match penalty. His suspension was handed down after a hearing called by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety two days later.