Vancouver Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy has been suspended one game for a cross-check on Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid.
A skirmish began after the final buzzer sounded in Vancouver’s 4-3 victory in Game 3 Sunday after Soucy shoved McDavid behind the Canucks’ net and McDavid responded by hitting Soucy’s leg with his stick.
Canucks blue-liner Nikita Zadorov then cross-checked McDavid from behind, and Soucy cross-checked the Oilers captain in the face as he was falling.
Soucy was handed a minor penalty for the play and the NHL’s department of player Safety handed down a one-game suspension Monday, saying in a video that the defenceman’s actions were “not a hockey play” and deserved additional discipline.
Zadorov was fined $5,000 US by the NHL, the maximum amount under the collective bargaining agreement.
Vancouver leads the best-of-seven second-round series 2-1, with Game 4 set for Tuesday night in Edmonton at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Soucy told reporters Monday he wasn’t trying to injure McDavid.
A melee ensued at the end of Oilers-Canucks Game 3 that included Connor McDavid catching a cross check up high 😳<br><br>🎥 <a href=”https://twitter.com/Sportsnet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Sportsnet</a><a href=”https://t.co/9scBEJCVHV”>pic.twitter.com/9scBEJCVHV</a>
—@TheAthletic
“It’s just an unfortunate incident due to some timing. Obviously there wasn’t intent to get a player up that high,” he said before the suspension was announced.
‘It sucks having to watch your team’
“Emotions run high in those scrums at the end of the game.”
Missing game time would be difficult, the 29-year-old defenceman said.
“It would suck, obviously, at this time, in a tight series like this, in a physical series,” Soucy said. “I know guys will step up if that is the case. But it sucks having to watch your team.”
McDavid said Monday he was “feeling great” and didn’t want to talk too much about the incident, other than calling it “part of a heated series.”
“It’s a tough game. They’ve got big d-men. They make it hard on you. They play physical, they play a physical brand of hockey and it’s fun to be a part of,” said McDavid.
“It’s a fun series to be a part of. Obviously, two Canadian teams going at it, there’s a lot of passion.”