Kris Knoblauch took a hilarious jab at the NFL's Buffalo Bills to downplay the Florida Panthers' playoff experience.
Despite the Panthers making it to the Stanley Cup finals, the Oilers are here to prove that playoff experience is no indicator of future success. Experience has been a huge debate recently when talking about the finals this year, as this Oilers core has never been to the finals compared to the Panthers' back to back berth. When asked about it Knoblauch made it clear he wasn't worried about the difference, hilariously throwing shade at the Buffalo Bills in the process.
I don't know how much experience is, you know, beneficial. You can ask the Buffalo Bills how important Super Bowl experience is, but I think the biggest thing is the biggest thing is just having confidence to play in, and our guys are playing their best. They should have a lot of confidence.
For those who don't know, the Buffalo Bills were a force to be reckoned with in the 1990s, grabbing 4 straight trips to the Super Bowl from 1991-1994. This kind of feat likely won't be replicated again, but shows that prior experience doesn't guarantee better results.
People forget that before finally winning a round in 2022 against the fading Washington Capitals, this team had not won a series since they reached the cup finals in 1996. Before their underdog appearance last year, this core of players had consistently not reached expectations for the team.
The Oilers do have players with Stanley Cup experience however, which is why they brought in big players like Corey Perry and Adam Henrique. These are guys who have been to the finals and have helped the Oilers succeed in the big moments. These veterans can help stabilize the team and realize they only have 4 more games to win.
If the Stanley Cup finals were decided by previous appearances, the players wouldn't even have to play hockey. It's very real that teams will win the cup on their first appearance in the finals, as every team has to start somewhere. This finals will be between two absolute powerhouses who seem like they could be around for a while and hopefully the Oilers can have the confidence to put this series away before things get rough.
