Terrifying scene as Connor McDavid's leg gets caught in a massive collision with the net

Sportsnet just reported that Vasily Podkolzin stood up for his captain after McDavid went hard into the net.

It's the kind of moment a locker room remembers, and it lands while the Oilers are playing Anaheim tonight. The game is live as this goes up, so the score stays out of it.

Here's what Sportsnet put out on the sequence:

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The post says McDavid went hard into the net and that Podkolzin stood up for his captain afterwards. That's all it gives, so the details of the play are for the highlights to settle.

What stands out is who answered. Podkolzin is a 25-year-old winger who has 9 goals and 14 points through 16 games this season, with a +11 rating.

He was the tenth overall pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2019, and he has 317 NHL games on his résumé. His career total of 54 goals shows he was never a volume scorer before this season. This year he has 3 power-play goals and 3 power-play assists, which says he's being trusted in real spots.

Why this response matters for Edmonton's start

The Oilers are 11-2-3 and sit second in the NHL, first in the Pacific Division. That's a team with a cushion, and cushions tend to produce a lot of talk about who is willing to do the dirty work.

Defending the captain is a statement either way. A player scoring at this pace could easily stay in his lane and let others handle the physical side. Podkolzin didn't, and I like that more than any stat on his line.

Edmonton's one recent blemish came Tuesday, a 3-4 shootout loss at New Jersey. It's the only thing on their ledger that looks like a stumble, and they're 7-0-1 on the road otherwise.

The Oilers will also have a story to tell Saturday, November 7, when they host Vancouver. Podkolzin faces the team that drafted him, and the crowd will remember what he did for his captain.

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