After what happened last Sunday on the West Coast, the Edmonton Oilers were out for blood against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. The Oilers were looking for retribution against their 3-2 loss against the Canucks, but more importantly, to exact revenge on their Pacific Division rivals for costing Oilers captain Connor McDavid three matches.

The Oilers took their revenge by handing their opponents a clubbing, scoring six goals while conceding only two. However, they also didn’t shy away from playing aggressively toward their opponents, especially Conor Garland. After all, it was Garland who held down Connor McDavid when he was looking to equalize during Sunday’s game. However, the fans thought the Oilers went overboard.

Despite being up 4-0, nearly the entire Oilers team jumped on Garland after he swiped his stick at goalie Calvin Pickard’s feet, trying to catch the rebound. However, since Garland missed and nearly hit Pickard instead, the Oilers squad mobbed Garland. “They’re doing all that because Garland held McDavid down?!?! Is this a joke????” commented one enraged fan.

“Not sure if the Oilers are aware, but Garland is the one who ate McDavid’s cross-check to face…” added the furious fan. However, the Edmonton Oilers players were not in a forgiving mood. The moment Garland made the move to capitalize on the scoring chance and failed, Connor McDavid’s teammates surrounded the player. They pinned Garland to the side wall and threw hands.

Those who came to Garland’s rescue didn’t fare too well either, with Corey Perry taking down Canucks star Quinn Hughes during the tussle. While some fans found the old-school brawl amusing, others didn’t enjoy the intimidation tactic. One fan reminded others that Garland’s offense ended at holding down McDavid’s for about 15 seconds.

“Holding. Garland was guilty of holding. Jesus Christ.” the netizen commented in exasperation. Meanwhile, others didn’t hold back their sarcasm for what they deemed an unnecessary move and another Oiler’s star came under fire.

Connor McDavid’s teammate caught flak for his actions

Many fans continued to criticize the Oilers for specifically targeting Garland. During last Sunday’s game, Garland and McDavid became entangled, and the Canucks star decided to delay McDavid in an attempt to preserve Vancouver’s slim lead. While the tactic worked, a frustrated McDavid ultimately got up and hit Garland with the now-costly infraction.

However, seeing the Oilers’ action despite having a 4-0 lead didn’t sit well with the fans. “Oh, good God. Garland held onto McDavid, he didn’t gouge his fucking eyes out. Get over it, Oilers,” one hockey fan wrote, describing the intensity of the moment. However, what Corey Perry did while some of the Canucks came to Garland’s rescue also drew criticism.

Connor McDavid’s teammate went straight for Quinn Hughes, taking him down before the tussle finally broke. “Perry’s suplex on Hughes… League doesn’t protect its starsss wahhh…” commented one fan. The X user immediately caught onto what Perry had said in McDavid’s defense after January 19. Perry had called out the referees, saying they should’ve intervened when Garland held McDavid down.

“Why aren’t we protecting the superstars? Why aren’t we?. Every other league does it…” argued the Edmonton Oilers star. However, the fans didn’t like how Perry acted on the ice on Thursday after saying such a thing in defense of his teammate. “Protect the stars, eh Perry?” another fan threw a sarcastic jab, seeing Perry commit the infraction.

However, Corey Perry didn’t pay attention to any criticism. “It was a great game from us,” said Perry, after successfully beating their rivals as Connor McDavid sat out the second of his three-game suspension.