WATCH: Connor McDavid takes dangerous high stick to the neck owing to Carson Soucy cross-check

By Srihari Anand

Modified May 21, 2024 13:14 GMT

Connor McDavid escaped a serious injury after receiving a high stick to his neck during the final moments of Game 3 between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. Carson Soucy pushed off an Oilers teammate and in retaliation, McDavid whacked his stick at Soucy, who returned the favor.

Nikita Zadorov came skating in and shoved Connor McDavid from behind, which forced the Oilers captain into a falling motion. At the same instant, Carson Soucy high-sticked McDavid, which caught him in the neck area. McDavid fell onto the ice as his Oilers teammates came to his defense.

Connor McDavid seemed fine after his initial fall, as he got up and was in the middle of a big scrum after the final whistle had sounded. The Oilers attempted to make a comeback but lost Game 3, 4-3.

NHL Department of Player Safety suspended Carson Soucy for one game, for cross-checking Connor McDavid. In addittion, Nikita Zadorov was fined $5,000 for his involvement in the indicent.

Ahead of Oilers-Canucks' Game 4, Nikita Zadorov was very vocal and shared his take about his fine and the one-game suspension to Soucy, and said:

"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 look at it.”

Zadorov added that he had no intention to hurt McDavid, and stated his retaliation was in response to Oilers captain's slash on Carson Soucy. Zadorov ended up with a cut during the scrum after Oilers' Zach Hyman caught him high with a stick while a scrum ensued.

Zadorov claimed that the NHL penalized the two Canucks players was because of favoritism towards Connor McDavid. The Russian defenceman said,

"At the end of the day, they have to protect their investment, so that’s my understanding in this situation."

Zadorov had a quirky reply when he was asked why the league didn't protect him, he said:

“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 Soucy apologized to Connor McDavid for cross-checking

Connor McDavid addressed the incident ahead of Game 4 and he said,

“They have big, heavy D-men, and they play a physical brand of hockey," McDavid said. "It is fun to be a part of. It has been a fun series to play in.”

Carson Soucy also spoke with the media and stated he had a hearing with the Department of Player Safety. He added that it wasn't an intentional play, but would respect the decision made by the DoPS.

Soucy even mentioned communicating to McDavid that he didn't intent on catching him that high near the neck area. Soucy said,

"If you can see after, it's kind of almost apologizing and saying I didn't mean to get that high. He obviously was fired up because, like I said, it looked bad and it probably felt bad. But ultimately, I was like 'Hey, there was no intent to get you up that high, just emotions run high in those scrums at the end of the game.'"