Connor McDavid calls Drew Helleson hit dangerous

McDavid doesn't usually show much after a game. On Friday he did, and he explained why this play hits so close to home.

The play came at 8:06 of the 1st period at Rogers Place. McDavid took off toward the net, Ducks goalie Laurent Brossoit poke-checked the puck away, and Helleson went shoulder to shoulder with him and sent him into the left post. No penalty was called for charging, boarding or roughing. McDavid said those are plays he has been really, really hurt on before and called it dangerous. His history explains it. As a rookie in 2015-16 he broke his left clavicle crashing into the end boards and missed 37 games. In 2018-19 he tore his PCL sliding into the post after a trip by Calgary's Mark Giordano.

Vasily Podkolzin wasn't waiting for the league to sort it out. He went straight at Helleson, landed a few punches and got tossed for a one-man fight: a fighting major, an instigator minor and a game misconduct, 27 penalty minutes in all. Helleson's minor cancelled out the instigator, which left Anaheim with a 5-minute power play. McDavid said he appreciated the response but called the call unfortunate. That's the Oilers' problem in a sentence. The guy who sticks up for the captain is the one who gets punished, and the hit that started it gets nothing.

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‘People have me pegged as a robot’: Oilers’ McDavid on emotional response to Helleson hit: t.co/pzcDD1ySNf

Being visibly angry is new for McDavid, and the robot line shows he knows people noticed. He says fans have him pegged as someone who doesn't react. On Thursday he reacted, and he doesn't sound sorry about it.

Not everyone is with him on the hit, though. The Athletic's Minnesota hockey writer watched the same replay and saw a hockey play, not a crime.

Honestly, both sides have a point. Russo is right that by the letter of the rulebook, a defenseman finishing his check on a guy driving the net is a hockey play, and the officials agreed by calling nothing on it. McDavid's argument is less about this one hit and more about where it happens. The best player in the world gets hit going into the net more than anyone else in the league, and the post doesn't move. Some write-ups have him pushing for the net to be treated like the end boards, which would make shoving a player into the post a boarding-style penalty.

For now nothing is happening. NHL.com's game story doesn't mention a supplemental discipline review for Helleson. McDavid isn't slowing down either: he had a goal and 3 assists in the loss and extended his point streak to 17 games with 44 points. Players will keep finishing checks on him at the crease, though, so the next one is a matter of when. The real question is whether the league treats the net like a wall before the post gets him again.