As the Stanley Cup Final roars on between the <a href="http://oilersnation.com/combinations">Edmonton Oilers</a> and <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/06/09/edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-game-3-preview/">Florida Panthers</a>, the latter of the two coming out on top in Game 3 Monday night, what&#8217;s old is new again.

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The fire between the two sides came out in a big way as 140 penalty minutes were racked up between them — 122 of which occurred in a third period that got out of hand.
Edmonton, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/06/09/instant-reaction-florida-panthers-hammer-edmonton-oilers-to-take-lead-stanley-cup-final/">who lost the game 6-1</a>, had no problem trying to get their pound of flesh out of the Panthers — something Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch seemingly had no problem with.
&#8220;I think the game was out of hand,&#8221; he said Monday night shortly after the loss. &#8220;I don’t think we would’ve acted or played like that had the game been a one-goal, or two-goal game. I think our guys were just trying to, I don’t know — boys being boys, just trying to make investments for the next game.
“We’ve got some guys who’d love to drop the gloves a little more and get at ‘er a little bit. We’re a big, physical team. We have some skilled guys and I don’t see our skilled guys getting distracted and getting into that. The guys who like it are getting into it.&#8221;
And while he had no issue with the roughhousing, he sarcastically talked about how impressed he was with the standard of officiating that&#8217;s gone on in the series.
&#8220;And just following up,&#8221; he said with a pause.
&#8220;I think the referees did an outstanding job tonight, and they even caught the too many men penalty in the first, which was too many men. They caught us there. I just wish they had been calling it in Game 2 in overtime.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Florida gets away with too-many-men on this one as Ekblad is going off hurt.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TimeToHunt?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TimeToHunt</a> 4 &#8211; 4 (2OT) <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsGoOilers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StanleyCupPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StanleyCupPlayoffs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StanleyCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StanleyCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/UBoSb6CcUh">pic.twitter.com/UBoSb6CcUh</a>
&mdash; James (@SportsDataQuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsDataQuest/status/1931204599005790599?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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What Knoblauch refers to was, as he explained, a miss call from referees Chris Rooney and Jean Hebert in Game 2, comparing it to the too many men call the Oilers took in the first period of Game 3.
The miss happened four minutes into Game 2&#8217;s double overtime frame, getting kicked off by a Darnell Nurse shot that hit Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad. As he skated gingerly to the bench calling for a change, Panthers defenceman Nate Schmidt quickly jumped over the boards as Oilers winger Viktor Arvidsson skated right by the pair, both on the ice together. It didn&#8217;t get called by the referees, and less than four minutes later, Brad Marchand scored the game winning goal.
Both sides likely feel frustrated by the officiating in the series as there&#8217;s been a lack of consistency on many calls.
In <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/06/05/edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-game-1-tactical-review/">Game 1</a>, five minor penalties were called in the first period, one in the second, and another in the overtime frame when Panthers forward Tomas Nosek flipped the puck over the glass.
In <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/06/05/edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-game-1-tactical-review/">Game 2</a>, 11 minor penalties were called in the first period, and just three in the second, with no calls coming in the third period or in either of the overtime frames.
Game 3? Well, it was a blood bath of calls both ways. Both teams took four minor penalties in the first for a total of eight, before the only call in the came on a Darnell Nurse cross-checking. The rest is history, as both teams racked up those 122 minutes in the third.
<a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/01/edmonton-oilers-evander-kane-unexpected-x-factor-against-los-angeles-kings/">Evander Kane</a> expressed his frustration after the game, too.
“They seem to get away with it more than we do,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It’s tough to find the line — they’re doing just as much stuff as we do. It was 4-4 at the end of it, then it gets out of hand and there seems to be a little more attention to our group.”
If the Oilers have hopes of finding a split in the series, Knoblauch knows the Oilers can clean up their game.
“The first period, obviously the four penalties, which is way too many. We shouldn’t have those, but I kind of question some of those penalties.”
And as the series between the two teams moves along to Game 4 with the Panthers holding a 2-1 series, the Oilers look to split the road trip. That game is set for 6:00 PM MT on Thursday night.
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Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRSWOpthKmdtmFOKQDd7TQdTU2KSKXYvX">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at <a href="http://www.x.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
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<h2>ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365</h2>
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As the Stanley Cup Final roars on between the <a href="http://oilersnation.com/combinations">Edmonton Oilers</a> and <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/06/09/edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-game-3-preview/">Florida Panthers</a>, the latter of the two coming out on top in Game 3 Monday night, what's old is new again.


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The fire between the two sides came out in a big way as 140 penalty minutes were racked up between them — 122 of which occurred in a third period that got out of hand.

Edmonton, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/06/09/instant-reaction-florida-panthers-hammer-edmonton-oilers-to-take-lead-stanley-cup-final/">who lost the game 6-1</a>, had no problem trying to get their pound of flesh out of the Panthers — something Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch seemingly had no problem with.

"I think the game was out of hand," he said Monday night shortly after the loss. "I don’t think we would’ve acted or played like that had the game been a one-goal, or two-goal game. I think our guys were just trying to, I don’t know — boys being boys, just trying to make investments for the next game.

“We’ve got some guys who’d love to drop the gloves a little more and get at ‘er a little bit. We’re a big, physical team. We have some skilled guys and I don’t see our skilled guys getting distracted and getting into that. The guys who like it are getting into it."

And while he had no issue with the roughhousing, he sarcastically talked about how impressed he was with the standard of officiating that's gone on in the series.

"And just following up," he said with a pause.

"I think the referees did an outstanding job tonight, and they even caught the too many men penalty in the first, which was too many men. They caught us there. I just wish they had been calling it in Game 2 in overtime.”

https://twitter.com/SportsDataQuest/status/1931204599005790599

What Knoblauch refers to was, as he explained, a miss call from referees Chris Rooney and Jean Hebert in Game 2, comparing it to the too many men call the Oilers took in the first period of Game 3.

The miss happened four minutes into Game 2's double overtime frame, getting kicked off by a Darnell Nurse shot that hit Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad. As he skated gingerly to the bench calling for a change, Panthers defenceman Nate Schmidt quickly jumped over the boards as Oilers winger Viktor Arvidsson skated right by the pair, both on the ice together. It didn't get called by the referees, and less than four minutes later, Brad Marchand scored the game winning goal.

Both sides likely feel frustrated by the officiating in the series as there's been a lack of consistency on many calls.

In <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/06/05/edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-game-1-tactical-review/">Game 1</a>, five minor penalties were called in the first period, one in the second, and another in the overtime frame when Panthers forward Tomas Nosek flipped the puck over the glass.

In <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/06/05/edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-game-1-tactical-review/">Game 2</a>, 11 minor penalties were called in the first period, and just three in the second, with no calls coming in the third period or in either of the overtime frames.

Game 3? Well, it was a blood bath of calls both ways. Both teams took four minor penalties in the first for a total of eight, before the only call in the came on a Darnell Nurse cross-checking. The rest is history, as both teams racked up those 122 minutes in the third.

<a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/01/edmonton-oilers-evander-kane-unexpected-x-factor-against-los-angeles-kings/">Evander Kane</a> expressed his frustration after the game, too.

“They seem to get away with it more than we do," he said. "It’s tough to find the line — they’re doing just as much stuff as we do. It was 4-4 at the end of it, then it gets out of hand and there seems to be a little more attention to our group.”

If the Oilers have hopes of finding a split in the series, Knoblauch knows the Oilers can clean up their game.

“The first period, obviously the four penalties, which is way too many. We shouldn’t have those, but I kind of question some of those penalties.”

And as the series between the two teams moves along to Game 4 with the Panthers holding a 2-1 series, the Oilers look to split the road trip. That game is set for 6:00 PM MT on Thursday night.

<hr />

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRSWOpthKmdtmFOKQDd7TQdTU2KSKXYvX">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at <a href="http://www.x.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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‘I just wish they had been calling it in Game 2’: Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch takes aim at Stanley Cup Final officiating

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