It appeared bad blood between Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames players ended after Zack Ka sian and Matthew Tkachuk , but an incident between both team's captains on Wednesday has Flames general manager Brad Treliving in advance of the next "Battle of Alberta"rivalry game on Saturday.
"Any talk that there is malicious intent in the Gio hit is complete garbage, so lets just put an end to that," .
The incident he referred to turned heads during Wednesday's second period when Sportsnet's broadcast showedConnor McDavid yelling at referees after he was during a race to a loose puck in the neutral zone.
Edmonton's captain beat Giordano to the puck and chipped it past him toward the Oilers' attacking zone, only for Giordano to stick out his left leg, arm and hip in an effort to slow the speedy superstar down. Their legs collided,briefly spinningMcDavid around before play continued. While it wasn't clear exactly what McDavid yelled at the on-ice officials, it seemed likely he wanted an interference penalty called on Giordano at the very least.
MORE:
Another look at Giordano/McDavid
Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett)
McDavid that hedidn't "want to start a big media circus at all," and simply called Giordano a hard-nosed player.Oilers head coach Dave Tippett declined to addre s the incident until he had seen a replay, and once he had the next day, did not appear to think much of the play.
Did you watch it? Have you looked at it close?" ."Im not sure there was much of a knee there, but Giordano was trying to stick his hip out a little bit because he was beat. I think cooler heads will probably prevail today.
Despite Edmonton notably downplaying the incident, Treliving and Giordano himself went to great lengths to break down the play for media members on Friday.
"I saw Tippetts comments yesterday when you talk about a top coach who is a very clear thinker, saw his comments," , referencing Tippett's "cooler heads will probably prevail"me sage. "Theres nothing to it. Its going to be a hard-played game. Youre talking about a guy who is a Norris Trophy winner, a top player. Obviously Connor is one of the top players in the world. Everybodys going to battle for their space, but that to me is a non-i sue.
Giordano even admitted he may have gotten away with interference on McDavid on the play, but he maintained he had no intention of clipping his opponent's legs or otherwise trying to injure him.
"I think when you slow things down and you go frame-by-frame it doesnt give you the speed of the game," ." McDavid is an exceptional player, and what hes great at is cutting. He cut realquick; right at the end I tried to get a piece of him. I didnt try to connect with his knee or legs or anything like that, it was just an honest play, when a guys going around you you try to get a piece of him as a d-man."
Perhaps that's all it really was: a high-speed collision between an elite defenseman and one of the game's most talented players, both vying for the slightest advantage. Giordano said he could tell McDavid was upset the rest of the game, but did not say any words were exchanged regarding the incident.
"Its a heated game, we play a lot against each other, a lot of shifts against each other," ."Thats what makes the battle between our two teams great. I think theres going to be moments like that in every game."
The Oilers and Flames play for the second time in four days on Saturday in Calgary.
"Any talk that there is malicious intent in the Gio hit is complete garbage, so lets just put an end to that," .
The incident he referred to turned heads during Wednesday's second period when Sportsnet's broadcast showedConnor McDavid yelling at referees after he was during a race to a loose puck in the neutral zone.
Edmonton's captain beat Giordano to the puck and chipped it past him toward the Oilers' attacking zone, only for Giordano to stick out his left leg, arm and hip in an effort to slow the speedy superstar down. Their legs collided,briefly spinningMcDavid around before play continued. While it wasn't clear exactly what McDavid yelled at the on-ice officials, it seemed likely he wanted an interference penalty called on Giordano at the very least.
MORE:
Another look at Giordano/McDavid
Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett)
McDavid that hedidn't "want to start a big media circus at all," and simply called Giordano a hard-nosed player.Oilers head coach Dave Tippett declined to addre s the incident until he had seen a replay, and once he had the next day, did not appear to think much of the play.
Did you watch it? Have you looked at it close?" ."Im not sure there was much of a knee there, but Giordano was trying to stick his hip out a little bit because he was beat. I think cooler heads will probably prevail today.
Despite Edmonton notably downplaying the incident, Treliving and Giordano himself went to great lengths to break down the play for media members on Friday.
"I saw Tippetts comments yesterday when you talk about a top coach who is a very clear thinker, saw his comments," , referencing Tippett's "cooler heads will probably prevail"me sage. "Theres nothing to it. Its going to be a hard-played game. Youre talking about a guy who is a Norris Trophy winner, a top player. Obviously Connor is one of the top players in the world. Everybodys going to battle for their space, but that to me is a non-i sue.
Giordano even admitted he may have gotten away with interference on McDavid on the play, but he maintained he had no intention of clipping his opponent's legs or otherwise trying to injure him.
"I think when you slow things down and you go frame-by-frame it doesnt give you the speed of the game," ." McDavid is an exceptional player, and what hes great at is cutting. He cut realquick; right at the end I tried to get a piece of him. I didnt try to connect with his knee or legs or anything like that, it was just an honest play, when a guys going around you you try to get a piece of him as a d-man."
Perhaps that's all it really was: a high-speed collision between an elite defenseman and one of the game's most talented players, both vying for the slightest advantage. Giordano said he could tell McDavid was upset the rest of the game, but did not say any words were exchanged regarding the incident.
"Its a heated game, we play a lot against each other, a lot of shifts against each other," ."Thats what makes the battle between our two teams great. I think theres going to be moments like that in every game."
The Oilers and Flames play for the second time in four days on Saturday in Calgary.