Connor McDavid Hit With Nasty Crosscheck From Canucks Player After Final Whistle

There were fireworks after the final horn in Game 3.

The Vancouver Canucks edged out the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night to capture a 2-1 lead in their Stanley Cup Playoff series. Brock Boeser and Elias Lindholm scored twice and rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs stopped 42 shots in the 4-3 victory. Fireworks continued after the final horn, as Edmonton superstar Connor McDavid and Canucks defenseman Carson Soucy exchanged pleasantries behind the net, setting the stage for Nikita Zadorov to come in with an aggressive crosscheck from behind that sent McDavid back into a sandwich of pain.

Carson Soucy catches McDavid with a cross-check after the final buzzer 😳 pic.twitter.com/Gf03SqgE0l

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 13, 2024

The slow-motion replays are especially brutal, as you can see one of the best players in hockey knocked down like a rag doll only to have the fall interrupted by a stick to the jugular.

Understandably, the fracas and extracurricular activity has sparked a conversation about potential punishment in the form of an immediate suspension. It's fairly easy to find both sides of that coin represented because it was a pretty gnarly shot from behind but also, McDavid did start it.

The boys react to the cross-check McDavid took to the face at the end of Game 3 👀 pic.twitter.com/jdEM1IdZtW

— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) May 13, 2024

Game 4 of the series is Tuesday night in Edmonton at 9:30 p.m. ET. Zadorov may not be available. McDavid will be. No matter what else shakes out today from the league office, the Oilers will desperately need a victory.