Golden Knights Opponents
DoPS Hits McDavid, Myers With Three-Game McSuspension

On Saturday night, the Edmonton Oilers faced off against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Sparks flew at the end of the game, and two players– Connor McDavid and Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers– received match penalties which triggered automatic hearings with the Department of Player Safety. The Department of Player Safety conducted those hearings today and slapped– in this case, I think ‘cross-checked’ would be more appropriate– McDavid and Myers with matching three-game suspensions.
In case you missed it, here’s what happened:
With about 20 seconds left in the game, the Oilers had goaltender Stuart Skinner pulled for the extra attacker. McDavid collided with Canucks winger Conor Garland, and the two fell to the ice. They remained tied up and exchanged minor penalties; Garland held McDavid, and McDavid threw a gloved punch. When McDavid finally ducked out of Garland’s hold, he drew back his stick and cross-checked Garland in the head.
That altercation understandably drew a crowd, and the whistle blew to stop play. A different interaction escalated about thirty feet away when Tyler Myers finished his check on Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard. The two exchanged slashes. Bouchard approached Myers, and Myers cross-checked Bouchard in the face.
These two events and the chaos that ensued accumulated a total of 30 penalty minutes.
Three games for each player seems fair, especially compared to the other similar suspensions in recent years. Last season, Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly was given a five-game suspension for a cross-check to the head of Ottawa Senators winger Ridly Greig after Greig scored into the empty net. In 2023, David Perron received six games for a cross-check to the head of Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub. Neither McDavid’s nor Myers’s cross-checks on Saturday were as egregious as those.
The Canucks and Oilers are set to play on Thursday at Rogers Place at 6 p.m.