The Edmonton Oilers weren’t happy with how Saturday’s 4-3 OT loss to the LA Kings ended, but not for the reason you may expect.
While a team is never happy to lose a game, the Oilers had some complaints about how the referees handled an incident right before Quinton Byfield’s eventual winner. Apparently, Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner had been yelling at one of the officials about his mask, which had a loose strap on it. Usually, the play would be blown down to ensure Skinner could repair his mask.
Yet, that wasn’t the case, and the play resumed and eventually ended with the Kings getting the win. Skinner was animated after the goal as he demanded a reason from the officials, but that was to no avail.
Many Oilers fans wondered on social media why Skinner didn’t simply take off his mask, forcing the ref to blow the whistle, but Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch had a reason for that.
“Before the goal, he was yelling at the referee that his strap had come off,” Knoblauch said. “We saw that in the third period, when we had some momentum, they blew down the whistle for them. Maybe Stuart didn’t get his attention.”
“It puts the goalie in a vulnerable position and if he pulls it off, it’s a minor penalty,” he added.
“Just not having enough of our lines going. I thought we had strong contributions from some guys, but we couldn’t maintain the momentum of everyone not playing to their best.”
Coach Knoblauch on the #Oilers effort vs. the Kings.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/HseJZzdlRf
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 29, 2024
It’s clear that Skinner was more willing to battle with the strap loose rather than take off his helmet and force his team to kill off a powerplay in OT. However, it may have been the smarter move as the Oilers had at least two exhausted players stuck on the ice and dearly needed a change.
Knoblauch admitted that particular OT period was difficult to get changes in.
“[The Kings] had possession for a while,” Knoblauch said. “Nuge, obviously, can’t change recklessly, he’s got to stay out there… You see at the end there we had tired guys out there and when you’re tired it’s difficult to defend.”
In the end, it was Darnell Nurse, Adam Henrique, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who were on the ice for the OT winner. Nuge in particular had been out there for a long time while Henrique was also fairly winded and Nurse had just freshly jumped onto the ice.
While the whistle probably should have been blown for Skinner, the Oilers will have to roll with the punches and get right back into it this afternoon against the Anaheim Ducks.