In the dying seconds of the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers game, there were some extracurricular activities between the two clubs.
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Down 3-2 with under a minute to play, Connor Garland held Connor McDavid down on the ice, eliminating him from the play. With tempers flaring, McDavid ends up cross-checking Garland in the head.
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Connor McDavid cross checks Conor Garland in the face. 
McDavid is quickly becoming one of the dirtiest players in the NHL. 
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsGoOilers</a> <a href="https://t.co/m2EfpDovES">pic.twitter.com/m2EfpDovES</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1880851900926661083?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Here is what the Canucks winger had to say about the late-game incident:
<blockquote>&#8220;Ah, you know, I&#8217;m just holding him. I mean, he&#8217;s the best player to ever do it. So, you know, the time&#8217;s running out and I just thought that was maybe the best way for us to win a game was to do that. You know, I don&#8217;t want to hurt him. [I] Want to hold him and hurt him in that way. So, just try to get up and hold him down. But he&#8217;s a passionate guy. He&#8217;s a good dude. I mean, I don&#8217;t think he was&#8230;just his passion. It&#8217;s a tight game late in the game. Everybody has the fire in their belly trying to win a hockey game. So that&#8217;s the stuff that happens.&#8221;</blockquote>
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch shared his opinion on the situation:
<blockquote>&#8220;There&#8217;s a rivalry; Connor gets frustrated and gets his stick up. He&#8217;s frustrated because we&#8217;re down one goal, and the best player in the league is getting held for 15 seconds. You know, that&#8217;s frustration. That&#8217;s allowed to happen, and his stick got up.&#8221;</blockquote>
With just a few seconds remaining in the game, McDavid was given a match penalty for his actions on Garland.
However, he wasn&#8217;t the only one to receive a match penalty on the play. After the whistle on the side of the play, Tyler Myers and Evan Bouchard exchanged pleasantries, and Myers also got his stick up high on the Oilers defenceman.
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Tyler Myers also received a match penalty for cross-checking Evan Bouchard. <a href="https://t.co/9fk6jJHCx9">pic.twitter.com/9fk6jJHCx9</a>
&mdash; Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1880854365180960961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
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When a player is given a match penalty, it is an automatic hearing with the National Hockey League&#8217;s Department of Player&#8217;s Safety. With both players receiving match penalties for cross-checking their opponent&#8217;s face, they should mirror one another if they are suspended. We&#8217;ll see if that&#8217;s the case after the hearings.
The Canucks and Oilers are set to meet again in just five days when Vancouver travels to Edmonton on Thursday.

In the dying seconds of the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers game, there were some extracurricular activities between the two clubs.
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Down 3-2 with under a minute to play, Connor Garland held Connor McDavid down on the ice, eliminating him from the play. With tempers flaring, McDavid ends up cross-checking Garland in the head.

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1880851900926661083

Here is what the Canucks winger had to say about the late-game incident:
<blockquote>"Ah, you know, I'm just holding him. I mean, he's the best player to ever do it. So, you know, the time's running out and I just thought that was maybe the best way for us to win a game was to do that. You know, I don't want to hurt him. [I] Want to hold him and hurt him in that way. So, just try to get up and hold him down. But 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. So that's the stuff that happens."</blockquote>
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch shared his opinion on the situation:
<blockquote>"There's a rivalry; Connor gets frustrated and gets his stick up. He's frustrated because we're down one goal, and the best player in the league is getting held for 15 seconds. You know, that's frustration. That's allowed to happen, and his stick got up."</blockquote>
With just a few seconds remaining in the game, McDavid was given a match penalty for his actions on Garland.

However, he wasn't the only one to receive a match penalty on the play. After the whistle on the side of the play, Tyler Myers and Evan Bouchard exchanged pleasantries, and Myers also got his stick up high on the Oilers defenceman.

https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1880854365180960961

When a player is given a match penalty, it is an automatic hearing with the National Hockey League's Department of Player's Safety. With both players receiving match penalties for cross-checking their opponent's face, they should mirror one another if they are suspended. We'll see if that's the case after the hearings.

The Canucks and Oilers are set to meet again in just five days when Vancouver travels to Edmonton on Thursday.

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