Oilers Coach Speaks on Edmonton’s Repeated Mistakes Against Florida Panthers at Stanley Cup

The 2025 Stanley Cup Final featuring the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers has been super exciting, with two games that really highlight the grit and passion of both teams. The Oilers were riding high after their thrilling 4-3 overtime win in Game 1, thanks to that clutch late-game goal from Leon Draisaitl. They were eager to keep the momentum going at Rogers Place for another victory. The second game was quite the ride, full of momentum swings and nail-biting moments.

The Panthers got on the board first with a power-play goal from Sam Bennett, but the Oilers quickly answered back with goals from Evander Kane and Evan Bouchard, taking the lead. The teams exchanged goals, with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and Florida’s Seth Jones and Dmitry Kulikov all chipping in to make it a 3-3 tie. So, Brad Marchand ended up giving Florida a 4-3 lead with a shorthanded goal. Right at the end of regulation, Corey Perry found the back of the net for Edmonton, which pushed the game into overtime. It took until the second overtime for Marchand to clinch the win for the Panthers with his second goal of the night, tying the series at 1-1. It just didn’t sit well, losing at home, especially in such a tight game.

So, after the game, Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch had something to say at the press conference. He pointed out the team’s mistakes, saying, “Well, tonight it was puck execution. I know our passes weren’t sharp; we gave away a lot of pucks, so if you can’t make that first pass, you’re stuck in the defensive zone. You might get it out to the neutral zone, but especially in the second period, if you just get it out to the neutral zone, you can’t change, and then you get stuck, and that’s, I think, what happened in the second period tonight.”

The coach highlighted that puck execution is a big problem, especially pointing out how the team has been having a tough time with passing accurately and making decisions when the pressure is on. The mistakes really caused a lot of turnovers, making it tough for the Oilers to switch from defense to offense and keep the game’s pace in their favor. Knoblauch pointed out that the second period was a tough time for the team, with the Oilers getting stuck in their defensive zone over and over again.

Not being able to make clean breakout passes really messed with their offensive flow and made it tough to change lines effectively, which led to longer shifts and tired players. The Panthers really took advantage of the situation, dominating puck possession and keeping the pressure on, especially when Edmonton made mistakes. So, at first, the Oilers were ahead, but then the Panthers took over in the second period because of some mistakes on the ice.

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But the coach also highlighted some good plays, saying, “Just the execution wasn’t what we needed; we’ve got to execute a lot better. You know, in the first and the third, I thought that part of our game was pretty sharp, but we’ve got to make sure we do it for the full 60.” Knoblauch pointed out that the Oilers played more sharply in the first and third periods. He really emphasized how important it is to keep up a solid performance for the whole 60 minutes of the game. In the intense atmosphere of the Stanley Cup Final, even small mistakes can really hurt, so the team needs to keep their focus and play with precision to take on the tough Panthers team.

Now that the series is tied at 1-1, the Oilers have some work to do. They need to regroup and tackle those execution issues as they get ready for Game 3 in Florida. However, the Panthers’ coach was astounded by what he saw from the team’s oldest player in Game 2.

The man who defeated the mighty Edmonton Oilers at home

Brad Marchand really stepped up in Game 2, finding that perfect gap and scoring the game-winning shorthanded goal in double overtime against the Edmonton Oilers. One of his biggest fans is his head coach, Paul Maurice. He believes that a certain NHL event is part of the reason why even seasoned players like Marchand are still going strong.

The coach mentioned, “Well, I think we’re coming into an age of that. These men now that have come into the league, probably post-2000… The fitness level, the sports science that goes into it is just completely different than when I started. 2006, the rules changed. So, younger, skilled players could play early.” The rule change that the Panthers coach mentioned has been dubbed the “Lock-Out.” Back in the 2005-06 NHL season, the league made some big changes to the rules, and those tweaks really transformed the game of hockey for good.

After the lockout, younger players really got the chance to adjust to a quicker game. They decided to get rid of the two-line offside pass rule to make the game faster. What was the rule again? Offensive teams weren’t able to make passes that crossed the red line and the blue line unless a teammate had touched the puck first. This made the game feel more intense and laborious. Basically, the type of goal that the Florida forward netted in Game 2 just wouldn’t have been possible back in the pre-lockout days.

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