NHL: Stanley Cup Final-Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers - Source: Imagn — NHL: Sam Bennett falls on Stuart Skinner - Source: Imagn

Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch, Evander Kane speak out on Panthers' repeated targets at goalie Stuart Skinner

Modified Jun 10, 2025 07:23 GMT

The Edmonton Oilers have quickly rediscovered the Florida Panthers' tendencies through two games of the Stanley Cup Final.

Florida is widely regarded as the toughest, in-your-face team in hockey. Part of that tag comes from their forwards crashing the net, which we've seen plenty of throughout these playoffs.

Sam Bennett has been at the forefront, having been involved in collisions with Anthony Stolarz, Frederik Andersen, and now Stuart Skinner.

It's been a major topic of discussion around the hockey world, and on Monday, members of the Oilers were asked about it. Evander Kane, who has racked up 12 points (six goals, six assists) through 12 games thus far, provided his thoughts during his media availability.

"Yeah, it's been a battle of both nets. Obviously, you don't like when guys are purposely falling into your goaltender. That's never good, and you hope that gets noticed," Kane said (0:25).

Head coach Kris Knoblauch also shared his perspective on the action around Stuart Skinner through the first two games of the Finals.

"It's a fine line, and you just trust that the referees would call it and enforce it properly," Knoblauch said. "That's a very difficult thing to handle, because, you know, just what's contact? What propels a player into the crease? Obviously our defensemen are trying to do their best to keep the Florida players from getting to the net front. (1:08).

"A player can always spin or take the other route or go through the crease... When there's an action from one side and counteraction, but if you're pushing to the left and he falls right and/or backwards, or whatever it is, you can't do that much as a defenseman to control exactly where he goes. So just hopefully, the referees see that and call it accordingly," Knoblauch added.

He hopes that the officials continue to keep their eyes on it and make the call, as we saw in Game 2, which Leon Draisaitl took advantage of with a power-play goal.

The Oilers are preparing for Game 3, which goes down on Monday night in Florida. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EST at Amerant Bank Arena.

About the author

Jackson Weber is an NHL journalist at Sportskeeda with a Bcomm degree in Business and Sport Management from the University of Guelph.

Jackson has grown up as a lifelong Pittsburgh Penguins fan. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are his all-time favorite players. Watching the Penguins win the Stanley Cup three times is an experience that Jackson will never forget. Years later, you realize how rare it is to see your favorite team win even once, so three championships were just incredible.

When not watching, playing, or writing about sports, Jackson loves to cook and is passionate about health and nutrition.

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