Oilers Coach Knoblauch Makes Gutsy Change and Gets Burned Against Florida Panthers
It was a tough game last night for Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch as his team faced off against the Florida Panthers in a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup finals and watching his stars burn him with a poor defensive effort.
Knoblauch decided to load up his two top lines with Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman alongside Oilers superstar Connor McDavid. It was certainly not a defensive gem as the top line went -3 in one period alone and Evan Bouchard was a - 2.
Knoblauch was trying different line combinations in a way to help counter the Florida's attack and after the second period, the Oilers were up 4-3. It appears that both goaltenders did not have a good night as Sergei Bobrovsky and Stuart Skinner were both letting everything in.
The game also had some missed calls including a goal that should have been called back after there was a direct kicking motion by Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk.
This game was highly anticipated by both sides after both teams had a terrific 7 game series last year to decide who won the Stanley Cup. After being down three games to none, the oilers stormed back and forced the game 7 which came down right to the wire.
Unfortunately for the Oilers they did not have the right outcome and were forced to Become the runner up.
This loss snapped their five game-winning streaks but this is likely a one off as the Oilers have been playing quite well over the past several weeks. Many feel that the team got over the hump from their inconsistent start to their season and have been rolling steady through the month of December.
The Oilers will be at home again and wait for the Boston Bruins who had major struggles over the past couple of weeks to which they turned around and won 5-1 against the Vancouver Canucks.
Both teams will be hungry to continue, and it should be another entertaining game to be seen.
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