Matt Hendricks was served with a 3 game suspension last night resultant from his aggressive hit from behind on Aaron Ekblad.
Ekblad, a former 1st Overall pick in the 2014 Draft, was forced to sit out the Panthers’ next game against the Canucks as the club followed concussion protocol. As soon as the hit was made I immediately opined that Hendricks was going to get a suspension for it. It was a spectacular hit, to the numbers, against a young star in the NHL. The NHL really didn’t have much of a choice in this case.
The entire game sparked strange reactions from the media covering it, though. There appears to be something of a bloodlust developing in Edmonton. Despite Matt Hendricks running one of Florida’s most important young players and destroying him, we have spent more time talking about the club’s perceived lack of response to the Taylor Hall hit.
Taylor Hall was indeed blown up and left in a twisted mess on the ice, but it was with a clean hit. He also popped back up and looked no worse for wear because of the collision either. In reaction to this the Oilers as a team continued to press the action physically, dominate the game territorially, and then there’s the matter of Hendricks absolutely destroying Ekblad.
This was eye for and eye style retribution and, yet, this did not satisfy some of the most prominent hockey journalists in the city. Outside of the city the thought that the Oilers would go after a star player on another team is not only enough, it’s too much. Here’s Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun:
But a league that doesn’t protect its stars from retaliatory attacks for actions not of their own making is an irresponsible employer. And a short-sighted one. An NHL contract is not a waiver of a player’s right to make a living without fear of being maimed because of the action of a teammate.So someone had to be hit to balance the books? Then hit him as cleanly as Gudbranson hit Hall. Not with a dangerous shot from behind.
Hall is an exciting player, the Oilers’ best (until Connor McDavid hits his stride, anyway), but he’s not some frail wimp. He plays the game recklessly and has always been vulnerable to seismic collisions.
He was hit fairly, legally. Why is it that he should be exempt from the same punishment everyone else gets who crosses centre ice with his head down?
Dave Lozo also talks about this weird fascination with some of Edmonton’s media.
Seriously, it’s 2016 and people think fighting prevents star players from being victims of injurious hits despite the fact fighting has existed for the same amount of time as star players being victims of injurious hits in the NHL. Go figure.But why? Here’s my theory for why the Edmonton media loves fighting more than anyone else:
Wayne Gretzky.
You see, a good chunk of the people covering the Oilers today either grew up watching or spent time covering the Oilers of the 1980s. While Gretzky was skating around, setting records, scoring goals, doing pretty hockey things, Marty McSorely was known as his “protector,… the guy that made sure the frail Gretzky could do his magical things without fear of being hit or punched. McSorely was hailed forever because of this and even went to Los Angeles in the Gretzky trade in 1988 to maintain his protector role.
I’ve always been more “traditional… with my consideration of violence in professional hockey. I’m of the mind that fights are welcome, big hits are preferable, and revenge is great entertainment. That said, I also agree with the points that Cole makes above. Hall isn’t a wimp. He’s an NHL vet known for playing a reckless brand of hockey.
Also, despite my thorough enjoyment of aggressive hockey, there is more than 1 way to respond after a star gets hit. One way is to run another team’s star player. That has repercussions, as we’ve seen with Hendricks. Another way is to make them pay on the scoresheet. Maybe capitalize on Power Plays. The Oilers ramped up their physicality, took out a Star player, fought multiple times, but lost the game.
Moral victories and bravado are nice, but this past weekend did more to end their Playoff hopes than it did to unify the club. For the record, I don’t really have a problem with Hendricks doing what he did in the sense that there’s going to be this tiny little seed of uncertainty for the next team that plays Edmonton where they might not know what could happen next if an Oiler star player gets blown up. However, unlike others, I would say Hendricks’ retaliation was enough for me. I’m not going to complain that the Oilers somehow didn’t do enough to respond against the Panthers unless we’re talking about goal scoring.
LINEUP
Nail Yakupov has stated he feels 100% and ready to contribute. Matt Hendricks is out serving a 3 game suspension. Talbot gets a rest, Nilsson is in. Oscar Klefbom, it has been revealed, is suffering a Staph infection that originated in a cut of some kind to his leg. He isn't skating with the club at all which places his return to after the ASG along with McDavid.
Hall-Draisaitl-Purcell Pouliot-RNH-Eberle Korpikoski-Letestu-Yakupov's Ghost Klinkhammer-Lander-Pakarinen
Nurse-Schultz Sekera-Fayne Davidson-Gryba Hunt
Nilsson
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME: UPDATED
1) Yak Attack. We all know I love Nail Yakupov like a Father loves his non-biological son who he’s never actually met and whose native language he doesn’t even speak. That much is established. Yakupov was mired in a nasty slump right before he went down to injury. Sadly, he had tallied an assist in the game he was injured and was showing some jump. That was so long ago now that he can wipe the whole slate clean. He can get himself back into game speed, hopefully by doing the little things that he was developing this season. Yak was having by far the most defensively responsible start to his season, and played a great supporting role to Connor McDavid. I just want to see him back on the ice and engaging physically in his first game. Anything more tonight would be gravy (though his shot on the PP is welcome as well).
1b) Going with 7D as Yak is not quite ready to go according to the Coach. He should be ready to play on Thursday so lets pencil him in after the All-Star break. With 7D the Oilers should have the big shot from Hunt on the PP but the positional soundness of Fayne. Or at least that's how it works on paper. In reality its going to be a hassle to keep everybody's legs in the game. It also is going to put a lot of pressure on the Special teams. Hendricks is a big piece of the PK. With him gone that stretches Letestu even thinner. Fingers crossed there.
2) Man-Advantage. If the Oilers don’t do something about their struggling Power Play then this is going to be a rough couple weeks before the extended All-Star Break. Edmonton’s PP efficiency has dipped to 16.3% and 27th in the NHL. Over the last 21 games the PP is converting on only 12% of their opportunities. The death spiral is getting difficult to pull out of. Getting shots through is a problem for the team, so is gaining the zone with any semblance of control. The McLellan Oilers love dumping pucks in, but that’s exactly what the Penalty Killers are hoping for. This isn’t a team built well for winning battles along the boards. Something big has to change.
3) Ghosts Of Oilers Past. Shane Doan was never an Oiler, but we all know he could have been. In fact, Sportsnet makes a point to remind us of this fact every single time they play. I’m looking forward to his retirement just for the sweet release from this brand of torture. Doan doesn’t always hurt the Oilers with his offense, sometimes he just opts to hurt the Oilers. While there’s handwringing about Hendricks running Ekblad, Shane Doan has left a trail of crumpled Oilers in his career. The other ghost haunting the Oilers is the Spectre of Tobias Rieder. Reider was traded to AZ for Kale Kessy after the winger and the club failed to work out a contract. The rumour goes that Rieder wanted to get paid in his ELC like a 1st rounder but the Oilers balked. Today Rieder is playing 18 minutes a night and has 10-16-26 in 41 games played.
Puck drops tonight at 7PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Get Better, Connor!
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