The ongoing series between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks officially took an ugly turn when Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy cross-checked Connor McDavid in the face at the end of Game 3.
While the Vancouver blueliner was handed a one-game suspension as discipline for the action, Oilers players are not close to putting it behind them.
That was made clear in the middle of a post-whistle scrum late in Game 4, when veteran forward Corey Perry did what he does best by getting under the skin of his opponent.
In what may have been a parody of Soucy’s infraction, Perry raised his stick inches away from the face of Canucks forward Brock Boeser, holding it in a cross-checking motion.
The now-viral clip has garnered a mix of reactions on social media, with many finding the 38-year-old’s antics funny.
Perry makes me laugh, the game within the game 😂
— Darrenthiel (@Darrenthiel2) May 15, 2024
I actually laughed out loud 🤣
— Nickolas Peterson (@Nickola98362850) May 15, 2024
Others are calling Perry’s maturity level into question.
I bet perry was a bully on the playground as a boy
— iHockey (@ihockeyNHL) May 15, 2024
What a child
— Kristen St Denis (@kristenstdenis) May 15, 2024
Some folks argued that Perry deserved a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Now if I was a Ref or linesman and saw that, I would call a penalty for unwarranted conduct! Refs and linesmen in these NHL playoffs are being paid to be bad, it looks like!
— David Bentley (@DavidBe27588502) May 15, 2024
Thats 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike at minimum
— raezor (@raecopeland5) May 15, 2024
Boeser, who scored in the third period, almost had the last laugh, but was ultimately upstaged when Evan Bouchard sealed the deal for Edmonton, scoring with less than one minute remaining in the third period.
With the series now tied at two games apiece, the Oilers will look to be the first team in this series to win two games in a row in Game 5 on Thursday. Puck drop in that one is set for 8 pm MT.
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