We won't go as far as claiming Kris Knoblauch is underrated, but what he's done during his time as Edmonton Oilers coach has been nothing short of remarkable. He took over a team floundering near the bottom of the standings at 3-9-1 and turned them into a Stanley Cup Final team, thanks to his calm demeanour and cerebral style of coaching.
Knoblauch has his finger on the pulse and always seems to know what to do, and when. For example, his decision to have Warren Foegle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins swap lines for game six.
In theory there was no need to made this move, but it worked out well particularly for Foegele, who scored the game's opening goal. The interesting thing is Knoblauch didn't really have much of an answer when asked afterwards why he'd swap the players in the first place, which alludes to just his natural instinct/gut feeling for knowing what to do.
Biggest decision of the season for Knoblauch
Along these lines, arguably the biggest call of Knoblauch's time in Edmonton came during a crucial moment in game six. And in the process, it could ultimately determine the outcome of this season's Stanley Cup Final.
Consider the scene - the Oilers are leading 2-0 after scoring 46 seconds into the second period and the crowd is going crazy. However, the Florida Panthers reply within just 10 seconds, to stun everyone into silence and pull to within 2-1.
At this point, Oilers fans are fearing if this will prove to be the turning point of the game for the Panthers to come back, win, and claim their first ever Stanley Cup. In enemy territory no less.
Knoblauch however, believes Aleksander Barkov's goal is offside at the blue line. With several of his players and other members of the coaching staff also convinced of this, he makes the gutsy decision to challenge the play.
We call this gutsy, because of what it would mean if the Oilers lose the challenge. They would be called for a delay of game penalty, resulting in the Panthers immediately going onto the power play and with the chance to push on and tie the game, with the momentum firmly shifted in their favour.
Relief for the Oilers and disappointment for the Panthers
Fortunately for everyone connected to the Oilers inside Rogers Place, Knoblauch won the challenge and the score was changed back to 2-0 rather than remaining at 2-1. For one team this meant ecstasy and relief, for the other team it represented disappointment and a gut punch; the Oilers went on to win 5-1 and take the Stanley Cup Final to a seventh and deciding game back in Florida.
However, as much as the outcome was crucial in the context of game six, Knoblauch didn't believe it was such a risky decision to make the challenge in the first place. Speaking to the media postgame, he said: "I actually didn’t think it was that close. We were going to call it right away, but we had a little time to review it and we were like, 'OK.' The only hesitation was that maybe there wasn’t the right video. In my mind it was definitely offside, but I guess you never know."
Panthers coach Paul Maurice was surprised the Oilers made the challenge, because most of the video replays he saw were inconclusive. However, as per Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com, forward Carter Verhaeghe effectively admitted it was the right call.
Again though, it was a ballsy decision by a coach who just always seems to make the right choices. And as a result, the Oilers are now one win away from completing a comeback for the ages, and giving the city of Edmonton their first Stanley Cup since 1990.