NHL: Stanley Cup Final-Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers - Source: Imagn — Ryan Whitney calls Dave Portnoy ‘complete moron’ after his Game 4 Oilers rant (Source: Imagn)

Ryan Whitney insults Dave Portnoy with two words after Barstool boss' initial Game 4 assessment of Oilers

Modified Jun 13, 2025 05:19 GMT

The Edmonton Oilers struggled in the first period of Game 4 against the Florida Panthers. The Panthers scored three quick goals as Matthew Tkachuk scored two power-play goals and Anton Lundell added another. The Edmonton made mistakes and failed to clear the puck from their zone.

Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, criticized Edmonton during the first period. He posted a video on X and said Edmonton was playing terrible hockey.

Portnoy pointed out that Edmonton’s number 25 (Darnell Nurse) failed to clear the puck, which led to a goal.

In the video, Portnoy said:

"You're seeing an Oilers team that's peeing down their legs, that don't like the big moment. You gotta clear that puck! You gotta clear the puck, Whitney! Listen, I'm getting ready to post the 2-0 video before I can even do it. It's 3-0! It's 3-0 before I can post the video! These Oilers, these Whitney's, the Edmonton Whitney's are awful, man! Awful!" Portnoy said.

Ryan Whitney, a former NHL player and Barstool podcast host, saw Portnoy’s comments. After Edmonton came back to win 5-4 in overtime, Whitney replied to Portnoy’s post.

"Complete moron," showing his disagreement with Portnoy’s first-period comments.

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After Game 3 loss, Ryan Whitney urged Oilers to focus on discipline, not referees

Previously on "The Spittin' Chiclets" podcast, after Edmonton's 6-1 loss in Game 3, Ryan Whitney spoke about Edmonton's discipline issues. Whitney said the Oilers’ lack of discipline early in the game played a big role in the loss. He noted that penalties were balanced but blaming the referees was not the answer.

"The lack of discipline to start that game," Whitney said. [33:30] "... Like, Edmonton fans, I don’t want to hear we lost because of the refs. Get out of here with this.

"Do I like the refereeing last night? No. It was a little bit of a ref show from the beginning. But don’t blame the refs—that’s not why we lost that game. We lost that game because their special teams were better, they were better five-on-five, and their goalie was way better."

Whitney said that Florida had better special teams, stronger five-on-five play, and better goaltending. And Edmonton's discipline issues cost them their Game 3 loss.

About the author

Abhilasha is an NHL writer at Sportskeeda. Holding a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, her interest in writing hockey was piqued after watching an NHL skills video on YouTube. The 2023 Stanley Cup Finale series between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers was among the most iconic games she has seen and it left an impact on her.

Her reporting strengths include covering news stories and following stars like McDavid, Matthews and Alex Ovechkin, among others.

Abhilasha is a huge fan of the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche because of their skilled forwards, while her favorite players include Wayne Gretzky, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Connor Bedard. For her, John Tortorella is the greatest coach ever.

Abhilasha has over 3 years of experience writing content for different products and websites, along with handling social media content for various brands. She values using credible sources when writing and likes to identify fake and false narratives.

Abhilasha’s hobbies include spiritual reading, staying updated on the latest makeup trends, fitness and exploring new destinations through travel.

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