‘I just wish they had been calling it in Game 2’: Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch takes aim at Stanley Cup final officiating

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 Game 1, 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 Game 2, 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.

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 in a more disciplined fashion. That game is set for 6:00 PM MT on Friday night.