NHL Player Safety issues punishment to Oilers' Jake Walman for two separate offences

The referees had a rough night as Game 3 spun out of control with 140 penalty minutes. By the third period, the Oilers were just trying to send a message to the Panthers, and Walman was at the center of it.

Jake Walman was one of the Oilers leading the way in the mud-battle with the Panthers. The new Oilers defenceman has relentlessly been going after Florida all series, but two incidents stand out last night as too far.

The first fine for roughing against Matthew Tkachuk was a play that surely needs to be punished. John Klingberg held up Tkachuk in a scrum in front of the net, and then Walman joined to wail out a few sucker punches on the Panthers star.

The second fine for unsportsmanlike conduct toward the Panthers was likely the time where Walman was spraying water all over Florida's bench. Walman was trying to soak the Panthers, and even caught some flak from the TV analyst between the benches. This instance was really just senseless, and shouldn't happen.

In last night's heated game, there was definitely a few incidents that deserved a second look - and Walman wailing on Tkachuk was certainly one of them.

At the same time, it's the Panthers that are dragging the Oilers into this style of play, and Edmonton is simply sticking up for themselves and sending a message of their own.

Thankfully Player Safety didn't decide to suspend Walman - and they probably would have if it were the regular season. In Game 4, the Oilers will have to keep playing with this fearlessness, but get back to the game that makes them successful to steal a win in south Florida.