Panthers' Aaron Ekblad dished out an open ice hit on Oilers' Connor McDavid, and his post-game comments haven't been sitting right with fans online. Connor McDavid was no worse for wear after absorbing a big hit from Aaron Ekblad in the second period of <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/edmonton-oilers/don-cherry-sends-a-reassuring-message-to-edmonton-oilers-fans-after-embarrassing-game-3-loss' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Game 3 on Monday evening</a>. <a href='https://www.nhl.com/oilers/player/connor-mcdavid-8478402' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>McDavid</a> is known for his quickness and elusiveness, and it was unusual to see him get caught like that carrying the puck. He stumbled and fell awkwardly from the hit and took a quick visit to the dressing room, but came back to complete the game. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1932254417627078967'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> Neither Leon Draisaitl nor McDavid managed to post a point in the loss. McDavid got two shots on goal, while Draisaitl did not see one go on goal. Florida's top defensive pair of Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling confronted McDavid most throughout Game 3 and played a significant role in keeping him in check. Together or apart they're two of the best players in the world and we have fun under that stress of trying to stop them, Ekblad said. It's extremely difficult, but it's fun to do and we enjoy the challenge for sure. <h3>Ekblad believes he could hit McDavid a lot harder next game</h3> After the game, <a href='https://www.nhl.com/panthers/player/aaron-ekblad-8477932' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Ekblad</a> made some comments that revealed he felt he could have gotten McDavid a lot better in the hit. I don't even think I got him that good, realistically, Ekblad insisted. So, I don't know, I'm just trying to get in his way and separate man from puck and that's all you can ask for against a guy like that. I didn't think it was that big a hit, Ekblad said. I don't even think he fell, really. He fell after the fact, and I don't think the hit had anything to do with it. <img src='https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/i/photo/569321.webp' width='100%' border='0' alt='image' loading='lazy' defer /> Ekblad's comments have sparked a ton of outrage online from fans who feel he was out of line, many taking jabs at his history of being in trouble with the NHL several times. Anyone who thinks that's anything more than a hockey play are delusional. The steriods has that effect. Looks like he leads the check with his knee stuck out lol. Game 4 goes tonight in Sunrise, Florida, at 8 PM ET. The Panthers will look to take a 3-1 stranglehold series lead.