Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch makes his thoughts extremely clear on Darnell Nurse's penalty for yelling at ref Kelly Sutherland

By ARJUN B

Modified Dec 17, 2024 11:40 GMT

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Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch made his thoughts very clear regarding defenseman Darnell Nurse's penalty for yelling at referee Kelly Sutherland during the 6-5 loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday night.

The incident occurred early in the first period when the game was tied at 1-1. Nurse was called for tripping Panthers forward Sam Reinhart in the neutral zone by Sutherland. Nurse yelled few words to Sutherland, who immediately assessed an additional two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

The Panthers scored on the power play opportunity to take a 2-1 lead. When asked about the penalty, Knoblauch didn't mince words:

"You're not doing yourself any favors yelling at the referees. One, you're either going to take another penalty, maybe a 10 or two, or if you're not going to the box for an extra.

"It's just you're more likely just upsetting the referee who are more likely to call penalty later on the game. No matter who you are, yelling at the referees. doesn't help you at all."

The coach made it clear that he expects better discipline and self-control from his players, especially from a veteran like Nurse.

Zach Hyman (two), Leon Draisaitl, Connor Brown and Mattias Ekholm scored for the Oilers. Meanwhile, Niko Mikkola, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Jesper Boqvist and Gustav Forsling scored for Florida. Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves in the win, while Stuart Skinner stopped 22 shots for Edmonton.

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Kris Knoblauch reflects on Oilers' loss to Panthers

The Edmonton Oilers were unable to hold on to a 4-2 lead during the second period, eventually falling 6-5 to the Florida Panthers in their first meeting since Game 7 of last season's Stanley Cup Final.

"Really bad mistakes, whether it was the defense not getting the puck out,or not being supported, line changes not where it should have been, yeah just some costly mistakes that shouldn't happen,"said Kris Knoblauch.

Knoblauch noted that often the goalie can cover up those types of mistakes, but after giving up many high danger chances over the last two games, the Oilers need to pay more attention to detail on defense.

Following the loss, Oilers captain McDavid said:

"It’s disappointing, obviously. It felt like we had it in control. We have to find a way to win that one. ... Playing a team that was shut out twice in a row,you knew they'd be hungry offensively. We've got to be better there."

The loss dropped the Oilers to 18-11-2 on the season. Next up, Edmonton will look to bounce back against the Boston Bruins at home on Thursday.