The Edmonton Oilers won 5-1 Friday night at home against the Florida Panthers after Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Kris Knoblauch makes a series of judicious decisions in the Edmonton Oilers’ path to a possible conquest of the Cup.
The coach, who took over in November, successfully challenged a Panthers goal at a crucial moment in Game 6 of the final. The offside call negated a goal by Aleksander Barkov ten seconds after Adam Henrique scored to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead.
Officials, in consultation with the NHL review room in Toronto, found that Sam Reinhart was in the zone perhaps an inch before Barkov carried him inside. The crowd of more than 18,000 roared when Chris Rooney called the play offside and ruled out the goal.
Knoblauch pursued a skillful strategy throughout the playoffs, whether it was changing goaltenders in the second round or altering his roster throughout the season. If the challenge had not been successful, Edmonton would have received a two-minute minor penalty under league rules, which would have allowed the Florida team to be on the power play and have the opportunity to equalize.
The Oilers had lost 10 of their first 13 games when Jay Woocroft was fired and Knoblauch hired. Ten years ago, he coached Connor McDavid in the junior ranks of the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League.
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