Connor McDavid breaks silence on brutal cross check from Carson Soucy

Things are getting heated between the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers in their Round 2 Stanley Cup Playoff series, the first time that they've met beyond the regular season since 1992. And tensions boiled over in the moments immediately after the final buzzer of last night's Game 3 at Rogers Place in Edmonton in which the visiting Canucks held on for a 4-3 win, taking a two games to one series lead. 

It was Oilers superstar captain Connor McDavid who took a shove behind the net from Canucks defenseman Carson Soucy, and he responded with a whack of the stick to Soucy's lower body. At that moment, McDavid was crosschecked from behind by defenseman Nikita Zadorov and fell forward, right as Soucy was delivering a crosscheck of his own that connected with McDavid's neck.

It was announced that Soucy will have a hearing with the National Hockey League Department of Player Safety, a governing board that has come under intense scrutiny in recent years for the inconsistency with their rulings. 

But if you were hoping for McDavid to openly voice his desire to see the League throw the book at Soucy for his actions, you'll be waiting a while. He instead elected to say that what transpired was simply part of a tough series, and that he wasn't going to comment beyond that as no decision had been rendered on Soucy's fate.

"I feel great," McDavid said when asked about his status. "It's a tough game, they have big D-men who make it hard on you. They play physical, they play a physical brand of hockey and it's fun to be a part of. Obviously, two Canadian teams going at it, a lot of passion. It's part of it." 

"I don't want to get into it too much," he continued with specific regard to Soucy's crosscheck. "We're still waiting on decisions and things like that, so I'm not going to comment on it too much other than it's part of a heated series." 

The two teams renew their series tomorrow night at Rogers Place before shifting back to Vancouver for Game 5 later in the week.

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• Carson Soucy to face suspension for cross-check on McDavid.
• Canucks face suspension over cross-check to McDavid's face.
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