The same NHL obstruction problem that Mario Lemieux spoke about decades ago happened again between the Canucks' Garland and Oilers' McDavid, says Ken Campbell.
Connor McDavid and Conor Garland battle in the final seconds of Saturday night's Oilers and Canucks game.It drove Mario Lemieux out of the game for a couple of seasons. Bobby Hull constantly complained about it. All the cross-checks to his back forced Mike Bossy into an early retirement.
What Conor Garland did to Connor McDavid to keep him from having a scoring opportunity Saturday night, which led to McDavid cross-checking Garland in the face and getting a match penalty, is nothing new. In fact, it has been going on for time immemorial.
There has always been this notion that simply because a player is more gifted, has worked harder and sacrificed more than others – and, for that reason, is a much better player – that he has to also endure more abuse and fight through more skulduggery to be successful.
McDavid will be suspended, as he should be. There's no way to defend that cross-check. His complaints are the same ones Lemieux and Hull had – he just expressed them a little differently.
Here's more in today's video column:
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