PLAY ON

7 years ago

It’s no surprise that Connor McDavid looked frustrated more than once against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center Thursday. A 4-2 loss to the Kings was the Oilers fifth straight defeat. McDavid, was held without a goal again, marking the 10th consecutive game in which he’s failed to score.

Then, there’s the matter of all the hooks, holds and hacks McDavid endured against the Kings. It’s not the first time McDavid has been a target for extra attention and abuse by opponents this season and it won’t be the last. It would have been understandable if McDavid would have went off on the officials last night — as many Oiler fans are doing – and the same thing goes for coach Todd McLellan.

Instead, McDavid and McLellan both resisted the temptation to howl in protest at the unfairness of it all during and after the game. While McDavid more than once cast puzzled glances at the zebras, there were no outward displays of complaining about non-calls, no pleading or begging. McDavid didn’t show anybody up – a tactic that has never, ever worked in getting the desired result.

Likewise, McLellan, who didn’t once lean on non-calls and the treatment McDavid from the Kings got as a crutch after that fifth straight defeat put yet another crack in that 7-2-1 start his team got off to. McLellan opted not to offer a scathing a critique about the work of referees Jean Hebert and Marc Joannette. Like his captain, McLellan played it smart.

WHAT HE SAID

Sportsnet host Gene Principe offered McLellan the chance to vent when he asked: “What did you think of the physical attention given to Connor? What sort of close-to-the-line, and who knows what side it falls on, when it comes to, you know, to corral a player like him? Not only this team but many teams over the last little while?”

“It’s called the NHL,” responded a straight-faced McLellan. “Other teams pre-scout. They know that he’s such a key player and it’s the way it is. You know, we can’t have a bunch of players running over the glass all the time going to fight. It doesn’t work that way anymore. One of our media guys says, ‘You’ll probably get a lot of questions about the missed calls.’

“I didn’t think there were many missed calls on Connor or anybody tonight. They called a pretty fair, even game. We had some hooking, some holding. They had some hooking and holding. There’s no whining and bitching about the officiating or the opponents playing Connor hard. We have a team full of guys who can play hard as well. I don’t see it that way. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see it that way one bit.”

I’m guessing a lot of Oiler fans feel differently. McLellan might, too, at least behind closed doors, but even if that’s the case – we don’t know for sure because we’re not behind those closed doors – what’s the end game in berating officials for uncalled ill-treatment, real or imagined, of your best players? Even when you’ve got a case, doing the dirty laundry thing for the microphones, notepads and cameras seldom results in anything aside from a fine.

MY TAKE

Marquee guys like McDavid have always been targets for extra attention from opponents looking to neutralize speed and skill they can’t match straight up and within the rules. Wayne Gretzky took his licks. Here’s an old clip of Darius Kasparaitis giving it to Mario Lemieux. Sidney Crosby has taken his lumps.

Even in the bad old days when Dave Semenko rumbled around like a runaway cement truck and there was a price to be paid for going outside the lines with the biggest stars in the game, opponents have done what they thought they had to do regardless of the risk of retribution. Bringing back thuggery isn’t the answer, although some people will argue that – I used to be one of them.

If what we saw Wednesday is the way it’s going to be until the NHL’s head office decides otherwise – fans pay to see McDavid and the best players in the world on the ice, not in the trainer’s room — then I’m with McLellan in his approach and what he eluded to. The edition of the Oilers GM Pete Chiarelli has built has plenty of guys who can play hard, too. Let’s see them do exactly that.

Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TEAM 1260.

PLAY ON

WHAT HE SAID

MY TAKE

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