Having had time to digest one of if not the most entertaining game I can remember,
The Gio "knee" can be looked at many different ways but at the end of the day, what actually transpired is all that matters, not what could have or what some may deem intent to be.
Gio could have been called on the interference but wasn't. If you call that, you have to call McDavid on the 2 hand against Hamonic right after. This doesn't solve anyone's problem and likely hurts the Oilers having McDavid off for 2 minutes more than the flames having Gio off for 2. In the end, the calls favored the Oilers and I see the Gio "knee" as an irrelevant discussion to the game.
Gio did have his leg further out than normal and could have easily kneed him if the timing was slightly different but he didn't. McDavid is unlike any player in the league and at his speed, I suspect this happens to him more than any other player. It is an instinctual play in a moment the D man rarely encounters.
Really impressed with Tkachuk dropping the gloves and it pains me to say it but equally impressed with Kassians response that the fight put everything to bed. I guessed (wrong) that it was Tkachuk who would want to go later in a period which gives Tkachuk the opportunity to recover, get stitched up or whatever may need to happen as the 5 minutes rolls into an intermission. He didn't just hold on and "pay his tab" either. He went for a couple big shots himself!
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