Brad Treliving is fed up with the idea that what Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano did to Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid on Wednesday was a nefarious act.
"Any talk that there's a malicious intent on the Gio hit is complete garbage," the Flames general manager told reporters, including Postmedia's Wes Gilbertson, on Friday.
Late in the second period of the latest edition of the "Battle of Alberta," Giordano collided with McDavid in the neutral zone and appeared to clip the dynamic Edmonton forward in the leg with his hip. McDavid was incensed afterward, screaming at officials from the bench.
Giordano was not disciplined for the incident. He had been penalized about four minutes earlier for slashing Sam Gagner.
Both McDavid and his head coach, Dave Tippett, downplayed the collision postgame. The Oilers captain said he didn't want to start a "big media circus" and added that Giordano is "obviously a guy that plays hard, and that's that," according to TSN.
Tippett said he didn't think there was any "malice" from Giordano on the play. However, Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said he thought it was "clearly a knee" and emphasized that McDavid isn't the type of player who falls easily.
The Flames' shootout win also featured a highly anticipated "rematch" between Zack Kassian and Matthew Tkachuk, whose encounters during the two clubs' previous meeting on Jan. 11 ignited a war of words in the days that followed.
Calgary and Edmonton won't have to wait long to renew hostilities, as they'll face off again Saturday night.
