Canucks face suspension over cross-check to McDavid's face.

The Vancouver Canucks may have landed themselves in a little bit of trouble at the end of Game 3.

According to a report from Irfaan Gaffar, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety is currently reviewing the cross-check that struck Edmonton Oilers star forward Connor McDavid in the neck at the end of Game 3. That suggests that the NHL is considering a suspension here and, I have to be honest, that is a little surprising given how it all unfolded.

McDavid was cross-checked in the neck at the end of Game 3 by Canucks defenseman Carson Soucy, there's no question about it, but I do not believe that there was any ill intent on the part of Soucy in spite of the fact that he was responding to a slash from the Oilers captain.

McDavid and Soucy were trading shots behind the net when Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov came up on McDavid from behind and drilled him with a cross-check between the numbers. At that exact same moment, Soucy appeared as though he was going to deliver a relatively harmless cross-check to McDavid's chest and shoulder area, with the cross-check from Zadorov launching McDavid face first into Soucy's stick instead.

Here's a look at the replay:

Unfortunately for Soucy it sounds like he will get the brunt of the blame here as it sounds like his part in this incident is the one currently under review. I would argue that Zadorov's cross-check to the back contributed more to Soucy's stick catching McDavid up high than Soucy himself, but the league does not appear to see it that way.

The fact that the incident occurred after the final buzzer and the fact that McDavid was the player targeted are both factors that will weigh against Soucy should the NHL move to suspend him.