New evidence emerges on Coach Knoblauch's questionable penalty challenge in Oilers Game 1
Photo credit: Daniel Bartel - Imagn Images
The Edmonton Oilers made a very gutsy penalty challenge in the third period of last night's game and lost, but a close up video suggests they may have been in the right.
On the surface, it appeared to be a questionable challenge from Knoblauch with not enough evidence to overturn. It was a major risk to take with the possibility of the 5 on 3 penalty kill, but the Oilers survived.
Close up angle of Walman penalty shows puck leaves a mark on glass
Looking at a zoomed-in version of the clip, the puck clearly does leave a distinct mark on the glass. The referees just completely missed the correct call.
Broadcasters speculated on the tumbling of the puck in the air, but the mark on the glass and noise it made should have been enough to overturn - and yet it wasn't.
After a lengthy review and the call not going the Oilers way, they had to endure an onslaught of a 5 on 3 powerplay from the Kings.
It was a miracle the Oilers were able to hold back the Kings offence to allow them to continue their comeback.
Coach Knoblauch still didn't have the best Game 1
Though he was vindicated with extra video review on the gutsy challenge, Knoblauch didn't have the best decisions in Game 1.
Especially in the first 40 minutes, not many Oilers were generating chances for outside of McDavid and Draisaitl. Their third period comeback was led by incredible plays from their superstars, but he may have leaned on them just a bit too much.
Even after they tied the game, Knoblauch tried to push the envelope and get a win in regulation by keeping his stars on the ice. They were gassed, and failed to pick up Phillip Danault on the backcheck for the winning goal.
Not many Oilers depth players had a quality game last night, but Knoblauch will need to get them more involved and elevating their games. McDavid and Draisaitl can't play the entire game. In the final minute, the Oilers coach may have been getting greedy.
The Oilers should still be feeling confident heading into Game 2, even after a heartbreaking loss.
They showed incredible resilience, and that they can beat the Kings' lauded defence. With better goaltending and cleaning up turnovers, the Oilers can come back.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 22 | 876 ANSWERS New evidence emerges on Coach Knoblauch's questionable penalty challenge in Oilers Game 1 What did you think of Knoblauch's coaching last night? | ||
| Good job | 222 | 25.3 % |
| Not his best | 654 | 74.7 % |
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