The country rallies behind Vasily Podkolzin after controversial ejection over McDavid hit

Vasily Podkolzin was ejected for defending Connor McDavid, and plenty of hockey fans are glad he did it.

On Thursday night at Rogers Place, the Oilers winger dropped the gloves with Anaheim defenseman Drew Helleson in the first period of a 5-4 loss to the Ducks.

At 8:06 of the first, McDavid drove the net and Helleson sent him crashing into the post.

McDavid stayed down briefly, then got up to protest, and the situation escalated.

Podkolzin went after Helleson and landed several hard rights.

Officials treated it as a one-man fight.

Podkolzin received a two-minute instigating minor, a five-minute fighting major and a game misconduct, while Helleson got only a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Edmonton finished the night with 11 forwards and faced a five-minute Ducks power play.

The Edmonton Journal described the response as mass support for Podkolzin across Canada, and the logic is easy to see.

The player who delivered the hit was barely penalized, while the teammate who answered for the Oilers captain was thrown out.

Podkolzin has history with this opponent.

He fought Jeffrey Viel in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series in April, so this was no random outburst.

Kasperi Kapanen also dropped the gloves with Pavel Mintyukov later in the night.

There is a cost, though. Playing short for five minutes and finishing with 11 forwards is a heavy price in a game decided by a single goal, even if the message to the dressing room is clear.

McDavid, meanwhile, finished with a goal and three assists, stretching his season-opening point streak to 17 games and 44 points.

He spoke out against the hit afterward, and Edmonton fell to 11-3-3.

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