Random Thoughts: Connor McDavid is one assist away, the Evander Kane situation, and Rasmus Andersson

This clip of Corey Perry and Evander Kane going at it on the bench was everywhere Saturday night, and I thought it was worth talking about for a few minutes. If you watch both clips, it seems like Corey Perry was angry with Kane about a giveaway behind the net, and he did not pull punches with his feedback when the boys got back to the bench.

The first thing that stuff out to me on this was how Corey Perry is the perfect person to let Evander Kane have it if there is a message to be shared. The guy has won pretty much everything possible in hockey, and if you can’t take criticisms from a future Hall of Famer then who will you listen to? The second thing that sticks out is how many people really seem to be uncomfortable with two players yelling at each other.

This morning after practice, Reid Wilkins asked Perry about the exchange on the bench and he replied with, “Brothers fight, we’ve apologized, and moved on.” Perry continued to say that back and forths like this one aren’t exactly uncommon, but that the obvious difference is that these conversations generally happen in the dressing room and not on camera for a nationally televised audience.

Of course, this is the second time in a matter of weeks that we’ve seen a debate on the bench with Evander Kane over the last couple of weeks, so it is noteworthy that it happened again. What will be interesting to watch down the stretch is if these public outbursts continue or if they are truly two isolated incidents. Of course, there is always more attention on stories like when Kane is involved, and we’ll have to wait and see if these last two weeks turn into something bigger than a couple of squabbles on the bench.

COREY PERRY IS STILL HILARIOUS

I’ve written about loving Corey Perry a few times on the site now — it’s still so weird to say after years of despising the guy — but he gave us another dose of hilarity after Saturday night’s victory over the Flames. As the teams were skating off the ice, you just see Corey Perry sitting on the bench chirping the Flames as they pass, and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t love it.

There’s just something about watching a guy that’s destined for the Hall of Fame rub salt in the wound after a loss that speaks to me on a core level. Frankly, I knew that Perry was going to be a loveable character once he started annoying everyone other than us for once, but I never expected him to make me laugh as often as he has through the first 32 games he’s played in Edmonton.

RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS WITH 200 POWER PLAY ASSISTS

With the pair of apples he picked up on Saturday against the Flames, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has reached the 200 power play assist plateau, becoming only the fourth Edmonton Oilers to reach that mark. If you look at the franchise leaderboard, it goes Wayne Gretzky, Connor McDavid, Doug Weight, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and I couldn’t be happier for the guy. It’s nice to see a player that’s given everything he can to this city for his entire career starting to show up with some of the greats at the top of the franchise leaderboard.

I CANNOT STAND RASMUS ANDERSSON

If you’re making a rat list for the Calgary Flames then a guy that needs to rank right near the top is Rasmus Andersson. The problem with I have with him is that not only is he a reasonably effective player, but he’s also a complete sideshow act any time the game gets physical.

Take, for example, the clip shown above. Andersson hacks Draisaitl in the back of the leg, so then Leon responds in kind. The difference, of course, is that when Draisaitl gave him a whack in return, Andersson went down like there was a sniper in the fifth row and actually ended holding the wrong leg entirely. That’s baby stuff imo.

I’m not sure what compels a grown man to ack so cowardly, but that’s what I see when I see a flop and roll like we got in front of the net. Frankly, I thought it was super embarrassing. Am I wrong? I can’t be the only one that sees a clip like this and has my blood boil, can I? There’s not way.