Connor McDavid Says Alex Pietrangelo Should Be Suspended for Slashing Leon Draisaitl

Edmonton Oilers superstar forward Connor McDavid expressed his belief Wednesday night that Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo deserves significant discipline from the NHL for slashing Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl late in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series.

Inside the final two minutes of Game 4 with Edmonton leading 4-1, Draisaitl attempted to seal the game by scoring an empty-net goal. After Draisaitl sent the puck wide of the net, Pietrangelo slashed him, sending the star winger down to the ice:

That caused a bit of mayhem since Draisaitl's teammates were unhappy with the play, including McDavid, who had to be separated from Pietrangelo by officials.

Per ESPN's Kristen Shilton, McDavid said after the Oilers' 4-1 home win in Game 4 that he felt Pietrangelo's slash was an offense worthy of a suspension: "You would like to see it reviewed for sure. I'd like to see it suspended. It was as intent-to-injure as you can get. That was not a hockey play."

Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft backed McDavid in saying that Pietrangelo's slash was "not a hockey play."

While it remains to be seen if supplemental discipline is on the way, Pietrangelo did receive a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for taking out Draisaitl.

It is unlikely the Oilers would be pleased with that being the only penalty, though, since the game was essentially already over when the slash occurred.

Draisaitl, who was the 2019-20 Hart Memorial Trophy winner as NHL MVP, has been a dynamo during the playoffs thus far.

He leads all players with 13 goals and 18 points during the postseason, and the Golden Knights have had no answers for him.

Draisaitl scored four goals in Game 1 of the series and another two goals in Game 2, plus he added an assist on Wednesday night.

It isn't yet clear if Draisaitl may have any lingering effects from the slash, but the Oilers need him at as close to 100 percent as possible to win the series and potentially vie for the Stanley Cup.

The series will resume Friday with a crucial Game 5 in Vegas, and regardless of whether Pietrangelo is suspended or permitted to play, fans will be eager to see if any bad blood between the two teams spills over into a game that will break the series deadlock.