To respond, or not to respond. That is the question.
And it’s one the Edmonton Oilers found themselves answering again after MacKenzie Weegar’s knee-on-knee hit on Connor McDavid.
The Oilers opted to turn the other cheek Tuesday in the Saddledome in the wake of a dangerous collision that left the Oilers captain on the ice for a few seconds before he got up under his own power.
None of McDavid’s teammates responded physically and there was no penalty called on the play, so it added up to a free shot for the Flames defenceman.
“I thought it was a penalty that sometimes in the heat of the action the referee makes a judgment call,” said Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft. “(McDavid) made a cutback move so quickly that it was almost like the other player got in the way. I didn’t see intent on the Calgary player’s part.
“I thought it was a penalty. It didn’t get called. You live with that stuff.”
There is a fine line between staying disciplined and making it known that you aren’t a team of patsies, and so far Woodcroft feels his team is on the right side of it.
He adds that Edmonton’s power play — currently operating at 32.3 per cent — is more than enough to keep opponents honest.
“What you want is for it to be a form of toughness,” said Woodcroft. “If teams take liberties, or are undisciplined against you, you want to make sure it’s one of the weapons in your arsenal to make a team pay. When it’s operating at the rate it is, teams take notice.
“In the end, when they took an undisciplined penalty in the third period, we made them pay with a form of our toughness and walked out of Calgary with two points.”
Tuesday night also saw Elias Lindholm crosscheck Leon Draisaitl into the open Calgary gate in another dangerous play late in the game.
The Oilers won’t survive to make the playoffs if the league thinks it’s open season on the star players, but inside the Edmonton room they don’t see it as a problem. And if it becomes one, they say they will handle it.
“It’s a team collective, you want to stand up for each other no matter who it is that takes a shot,” said defenceman Darnell Nurse. “There has to be a response if anyone on our team has been taken a run at in a dirty way. That’s big, that we take care of each other.”
With the score 1-1 and the Oilers and Flames fighting for the final playoff spot in their last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, nobody wanted to be the guy in the penalty box for a costly goal against, which might explain the reluctance to do something about the Weegar knee.
“It depends on the situation, the hit and the intent behind it,” said winger Zach Hyman. “The game has obviously changed in a way that fighting in general is down. But, at the same time, you have to make sure guys aren’t taking liberties with your players. There is a time and a place for it.”
On Tuesday in the Saddledome, the consensus is that all’s well that ends well.
“As a group, we responded in the way that we play and we won the game,” said Hyman. “It was a tight game, you have to stay disciplined. But, obviously, you have to make sure that guys aren’t taking liberties on the best player in the world and your captain.
“We got a 2-1 win and Connor scored the game winner. That says it all from his standpoint. He was able to punish him in a different way.”
MISSING IN ACTION
Draisaitl, who had to leave Tuesday’s game for a few minutes but returned to action later, and defenceman Tyson Barrie both sat out practice Wednesday.
“We’re nursing a few little bumps and bruises,” said Woodcroft.
Draisaitl also hasn’t scored a goal in a season-high six games. His previous drought this year was three games. He hasn’t gone six games without a goal since the 2020-21 All-Canadian Division season.
If he’s on the limp, nobody is saying.
“He had numerous chances that didn’t go in the net for him (last game) but he was all over it,” said Woodcroft. “You worry when they don’t get the chances. He’s a warrior, he’s somebody who gives everything he has to the team.”
MOUNT McDAVID
McDavid has been doing so many super-natural things on the ice it’s hard to keep track and it’s easy to take them for granted. It was the same with Wayne Gretzky — he raised the bar so high that incredible became normal.
McDavid leads the NHL in goals, assists and points and is on pace to hit totals we haven’t seen since the days of Mario Lemieux.
“It’s almost like living at the foot of Mount Everest,” said Woodcroft. “The brilliance becomes commonplace. Some of the things this guy does we’re privileged to have a front-row seat.
“What we are all seeing is something special.”
rtychkowski@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/rob_tychkowski
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