The Vancouver Canucks will look to take a 3-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers as the teams face off in what is expected to be an “aggressive” Game 4 Tuesday night.
Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. PST at Rogers Place in Edmonton, where the Canucks will look for a win without defenceman Carson Soucy. Soucy received a one-game suspension for cross checking Oilers captain Connor McDavid after the whistle blew at the end of Game 3 in their Stanley Cup Playoff series.
D-man Nikita Zadorov was also fined $5,000 for his role in the scrum, although he appears to be questioning why Edmonton’s Zack Hyman didn’t receive a similar punishment for cross checking him immediately after.
“I guess I don’t make that much money for the league, I don’t know,” he said with a chuckle during an interview with reporters.
Zadorov said the NHL is protecting its investment by suspending his teammate.
“He is a big part of our team, obviously it’s a big loss for us. My thought on that, I mean, I’ve been thinking for a couple of days. Unfortunately, that’s the world we’re living in. Sometimes social media and the public views can create some hard decisions for specific people and they might make questionable decisions. At the end of the day, that’s how I’ll look at it. At the end of the day, they have to protect their investment — that’s my understanding in this situation for sure,” he added.
When asked why the league wasn’t protecting him, Zadorov cheekily responded saying, “I guess I don’t make that much money for the league.”
“I don’t know. I mean, it’s a hockey play. There’s a lot of sticks. It’s hard to see. Carson, I saw he said there was no intention to hurt somebody. I had no intention to hurt anybody either. I saw my teammate get slashed, I had to step in, you know? I’ve been doing it for 11 years. It’s just an unlucky play; I got caught there too. Whatever, move on. Game 4 today. Let it be.”
Tocchet predicts ‘aggressive’ Game 4
In the wake of Game 3’s ending, Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet says he expects an “aggressive game” Tuesday.
“But I also think that you’ve got to play between the whistles. Discipline, I think for us, is at an all-time high. We have to be very disciplined, but you have to play tough. I’m not sure they’re going to allow cross-checking. I think they’re making a point of emphasis the last couple of games, on both sides, they’re not going to allow the cross-checks,” he said of what he expects Tuesday night, in the wake of Game 3’s ending.
In addition to Pickard in net, Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch will deploy Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on separate lines, and may insert Philip Broberg as a seventh defenceman while going with only 11 forwards.
The Canucks will start Arturs Silovs in net. The team’s third-string goalie had an impressive Game 3, stopping 42 or 45 shots to help Vancouver secure a 4-3 victory on the road.
While Game 4 will be played in Edmonton, Rogers Arena in Vancouver will also be packed for the Rogers Away Game Viewing Party. CityNews will have a reporter there with updates throughout the game.
You can also catch the game on Sportsnet, and hear the call on Sportsnet 650.
-With files from Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre