"Ridiculously unnecessary and dirty": Fans react to Connor McDavid receiving Carson Soucy's high-stick to neck after Nikita Zadorov's shove

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid got into a tussle with the Vancouver Canucks’ Carson Soucy in the dying moments of the game on Sunday. When Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov charged in from behind, it caused the Oilers captain to fall, while simultaneously, Soucy high-sticked McDavid in the neck area.

Edmonton lost 4-3 to Vancouver in Game 3 of their second round playoffs series. While the game had its moments, the real drama took place when Connor McDavid and Carson Soucy got into a heated altercation, seconds after the final horn.

McDavid was the first to fling his stick at Soucy for a low hit before Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov crashed into the Oilers captain from behind. This caused McDavid to fall and Soucy’s high stick caught him in the neck area. Their teammates stepped in while McDavid scrambled back onto his feet in the middle of the scrum.

Fans were quick to react to the clip that has since been making rounds on the internet. Following are a few fan reactions from X/Twitter:

“Ridiculously unnecessary and dirty by Zadorov and Soucy”.

“Thats ugly hope Zadorov and soucy get suspended,” seconded another user.

“Man, Oilers are just gonna let their captain get cross checked to the face and let it slide, huh?!?!” wrote one fan.

Some fans expressed concern over the incident and how the players behaved. Some even defended McDavid.

“'McDavid initiated with the slash.' Ahhhh yes… because a cross check to the face is the appropriate reaction to a light stick tap on your padded hockey shorts. Foh lmao,” a fan wrote.

Meanwhile, a fan attributed the incident to a sequence of bad timing. One fan suggested that Soucy likely intended to crosscheck McDavid in the chest.

“I find it hard to believe Soucy would intentionally crosscheck McDavid in the face. He meant to crosscheck him it the chest but McDavid's positioning changed just before because of Zadorov hitting him,” commented another user.

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Connor McDavid sets ice-time record in playoffs

Connor McDavid did not have his best game on Saturday at Rogers Place. However, he did set an Oilers franchise record for most ice-time for a forward in a non-OT-playoff match on the night.

With a staggering time-on-ice of 29:42, McDavid finds himself in elite company in NHL history. He is now trailing only Martin St. Louis and Mike Modano in the record books for the highest time-on-ice by a forward in a non-overtime playoff game.

It remains to be seen if Connor McDavid and his team can bounce back in Game 4 to level the series on Tuesday at Rogers Arena.