from David Staples of the Edmonton Journal,

This in from Edmonton Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock, his brilliant rip on the referees after Edmonton’s 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks that saw the Canucks get five power plays, the Oilers just one, and Connor McDavid no end of hooks, holds and slashes.

In the media scrum, Postmedia’s Rob Tychkowski asked Hitchcock what the coach thought of the penalty calls: “I’m not going to comment on the penalties,” Hitchcock said, “but the stuff that really bothers me is what is happening to Connor, and that really bothers me because we’re a league that is supposed to showcase our top players, and you don’t want to give them all the freedom, but the tug of war on him was absolutely ridiculous today.

“And that’s a little bit discouraging to be honest with you. Because I can see the whackin’ and hackin’ going on when he’s got the puck but to me it’s all the stuff behind that doesn’t allow him to showcase his speed. And if that’s what we want, well, that’s fine. But I think it’s a real disservice to a player like him.

“He’s not allowed to play give-and-go. It’s give-and-hold. So we’re going to have to figure out a way to fight through it. We’ll just play toughness with him and figure it out from there.”

continued

Below, watch Hitchcock in his post-game media scrum, the McDavid talk starts at the 1:00 mark.