Oilers’ Zach Hyman laments Alex Edler’s knee on Connor McDavid: ‘It irks you’

EDMONTON — Connor McDavid simply didn’t want to talk about the hit. Darnell Nurse’s memory mysteriously went blank when pressed for specifics.

But Zach Hyman was willing to speak up after a 3-1 loss to the Kings. His mind didn’t need much refreshing either.

It’s safe to say Hyman isn’t pleased with Kings blueliner Alex Edler kneeing McDavid.

The infraction was comparable — if not identical — in Hyman’s eyes to the one Edler doled out on him on April 18, 2021.

Back then, he was a Maple Leaf and Edler was a Canuck. That illegal check resulted in Hyman missing a month — he missed the rest of the regular season and returned for the playoffs — while Edler was suspended for two games.

“It looked awful, eerily similar,” Hyman said. “Like, the exact same spot, similar play. It irks you.

“And he had to do it on Connor.”

It all went down at 3:10 of the second period.

McDavid cut around Kings forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan at centre ice near the Oilers bench. That’s when Edler stepped up on McDavid, coming in with a wide stance. Edler’s right leg appeared to extend before the impact to cause the players’ right knees to collide.

Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said Edler’s contact was a “questionable hit” and hoped the NHL’s player safety department was considering further punishment.

“I’m sure they’ll take a look at it — past history and all that stuff,” he said. “We see our captain take a hit like that; a teammate stepped up and took care of things.”

That teammate was Darnell Nurse. Nurse raced from the far side of the ice to confront Edler. He was the furthest Oiler away from the play but still bolted over to defend his pal. His gloves were off before he even reached the Kings defenceman.

Both linesmen intercepted the tussle before things got too heated. Nurse was livid with Edler as the two players were being separated. He yelled at him before they entered the penalty box, too.

Nurse was given a double minor for roughing, whereas Edler got two minutes for kneeing and a second penalty for jostling with the Oilers blueliner.

“If I’d kneed someone like that, I would expect the other team to react the same way,” Nurse said.

The Oilers were hopping mad at Edler. Just think of how furious they’d have been if McDavid had been hurt.

They must be thanking their lucky stars he didn’t leave the game.

No one wants — or at least should want — to see McDavid out of action. He’s the best player in the NHL. Period. He’s a player who could end up on hockey’s Mount Rushmore when the final chapter on his career has been written.

Don’t forget he’s three and a half years removed from a devastating knee injury — one that could have altered his trajectory. For him to be hit in that manner and then to see him gather himself on the ice after taking another blow is something that should make everyone squirm.

That’s especially true if you’re an Oilers fan, player, coach or executive.

The Oilers are now 9-8 with McDavid in the lineup this season after Wednesday’s loss, a supposed Stanley Cup contender that’s barely treading water. They’re plagued by poor starts to games, shoddy defence, and a high-priced starting goaltender who’s still finding his way.

Without McDavid, things would surely be disastrous in Edmonton.

McDavid’s 11-game point streak came to an end on Wednesday. Perhaps not coincidentally, the last time he was held pointless was Oct. 24 against the Penguins, a game in which he went crashing into the post.

McDavid leads the NHL with 16 goals and 32 points. He was averaging two points per contest before Wednesday’s loss. He’s the only Oilers regular skater to be at least even when it comes to goals for, shots for and Corsi for percentages at five-on-five.

Even McDavid couldn’t generate much; the Oilers mustered just 23 shots on net as attempts were blocked or second opportunities thwarted.

The Oilers had only one power play and it was negated midway through when McDavid was called for cross-checking Edler as he exacted some revenge for the hit.

“Connor’s a very hard hockey player,” Woodcroft said. “He plays the game hard. He doesn’t get credit for how hard of a player he is, and he has a measure of physicality in him.

“He’s not intimidated by anybody.”

Clearly, tensions were high from the moment McDavid went down.

“We played an emotional game,” Nurse said. “You want to see that from your team and stand up for each other out there.”

But Nurse didn’t want to get into too much detail. He said he didn’t remember what happened multiple times when pressed further about his role in the proceedings.

McDavid didn’t want to address Edler’s hit either. Players on the Kings bench were yapping at him afterward.

“(Drew) Doughty likes to talk a lot,” McDavid said.

Actions speak a lot louder than words to Hyman, at least in this case.

He stopped short of condemning Edler as a dirty player. He’s just adding up one hit levied on him and another where the NHL’s best player could have been seriously injured.

“I didn’t like the hit,” Hyman said. “Good on Nursey there for jumping in there and sticking up for Connor.

“It’s one of those plays where you beat a D and he sticks his knee out. It’s a dangerous play. It happened to me. Same play. Same guy. I’m obviously not happy with it. I don’t know if he’s doing it intentionally, but you just can’t do that.”

(Photo of Connor McDavid looking on while Darnell Nurse scrums with Alex Edler: Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)