GOTTA HEAR IT: McLellan fires back at Carlyle’s “white glove” comments

When Anaheim Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle criticized the officiating in his team’s second round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers, he described their treatment of superstar Connor McDavid as “white glove”. It was a curious statement that raised the eyebrows of the assembled media and now Oilers head coach Todd McLellan has fired back.

“I heard that and I was surprised because I thought we were supposed to be the team whining…so that threw me off a little bit,” said McLellan when asked about Carlyle’s comments. McLellan is referring to an earlier statement from Carlyle in which he asserted that the Oilers would take issue with the Ducks’ face-off strategies before the puck had even dropped in the series.

McLellan then deflected the comment and continued to talk about his star player saying, “I think Connor has to play through the hooking and the holding and all that over stuff that goes on. The ‘white glove’ part of it is questioning the integrity of the officiating, so I’m going to stay right out of it.”

Easy now, boys. Let’s leave the verbal sparring for the players who get paid to do it. One thing’s for sure, tonight’s pivotal game 4 is shaping up to be a good one!