Edmonton Oilers come completely unhinged, risk Stanley Cup Final getting away

Monday night’s Game 3 between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers was a disaster. And, it wasn’t just because of the lopsided 6-1 score. The game was an utter mess given how the Oilers completely lost their composure in the third period.

In total, both teams combined for 140 penalty minutes. But it wasn’t just that the extracurricular activity padded the penalty-minute count. It was the way in which the Oilers fell apart after Stuart Skinner was chased in the final frame.

I’d like to highlight one incident, in particular. That was Evander Kane’s slash on Carter Verhaeghe. Let’s start by looking at the play:

Say what you will about the play. Fortunately, Kane didn’t knock Verhaeghe’s teeth out. But the optics were terrible. Verhaeghe was on the ice and evidently vulnerable. As such, there was no need for the slash.

Yet, there it was.

Kane got a minor penalty and a game misconduct. The game was 5-1 by that point, making the penalty largely inconsequential. But the penalty underscores just how much the Oilers were unglued at the end.

As far as I can tell, the Panthers have won the mental battle in this series. There’s really no coming back from the poor discipline shown by the Oilers in Game 3. Even if the laissez-faire officiating doesn’t plan to call anything for the remainder of the series, the Oilers have lost any psychological edge they may have had.

Edmonton Oilers rack up third-most penalty minutes in a Stanley Cup Final game

The Edmonton Oilers' disregard for restraint led the team to accrue 85 penalty minutes, trailing only the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames who racked up 90 and 86, respectively, in 1986, for the most penalty minutes in a Stanley Cup game.

As Chris Johnston noted, Game 3’s showing was an unusual one:

The dubious distinction puts the Oilers in not-so-elite company. While the current Panthers core racked up 84 penalty minutes in Game 2 against the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, the Oilers have now built a reputation for themselves.

The Oilers don’t seem like a tough, hard-hitting team. They seem more like goons.

A good example of that was Evan Bouchard’s slash on Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz.

The slash reported broke Hintz’s ankle. Whether that’s accurate remains to be seen. But like Kane’s slash on Verhaeghe, the optics are awful.

The Oilers will need to get their act together moving forward. They’re quickly descending into the same trap the Toronto Maple Leafs fell into during their second-round series with the Panthers.

Edmonton has become increasingly frustrated at the lack of headway in this series, leading them to lash out in this way. Unless the Oilers can rein in their goonish-like activity, this series could be over much sooner than anticipated.