NHL fans expressed their frustration with the Edmonton Oilers for their performance in the 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday at Amerant Bank Arena.
The Panthers once again displayed their dominance in the series, replicating their Game 1 success and effectively controlling the Edmonton Oilers throughout the game.
Edmonton was outshot 29-19 on the night and will return home trailing 2-0 in the series. Game 2 also marked the second consecutive occasion where the Panthers secured a convincing three-goal win. In Game 1, Florida blanked Edmonton 3-0.
The Oilers now find themselves in a do-or-die situation as teams leading 2-0 in a Cup final typically win the series 91% of the time.
Here's how NHL fans reacted to the Edmonton Oilers' Game 2 defeat on X (formerly Twitter) with one tweeting:
"HOLD THIS L CANADA"
Another fan reacted to the defeat and said:
"Dirtiest, most fraudulent team in the cup finals this century. Lmaoooooooo, y’all an embarrassment"
"TRIED TO INJURE HALF THE TEAM AND STILL LOST LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOO," one X user posted.
Here are some of the other top reactions on X:
"Think it’s maybe time for a forward to score a goal? Maybe get more than 6 shots in a period? The last four periods have been about as worst case a scenario as could have been imagined for the Oilers," commented another.
Another fan chimed in with their series prediction:
"Listen up Oilers fans. I said it once and I’ll say it again. The SCF has already happened. It was either going to be the Rags or Cats hoisting the cup. I was predicting 4-1 for the Cats, but I’m starting to think this will be a sweep. McDavid is not very good."
"Where was Conor McDavid?????' another X user wrote.
Edmonton Oilers HC reflects on Game 2 loss
Mattias Ekholm is the only scorer for the Oilers in the series. He put the team ahead at 11:17 of the first period.
Anton Lundell accumulated two points, while Evan Rodrigues scored twice in the matchup for the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky continued his solid performance and made 18 saves on the night.
In response to the loss, Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said the team played well enough to secure a split in the series. He emphasized the importance of taking it one game at a time and not panicking or making drastic changes (via NHL.com):
“We feel we came here and we played enough to get a split,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “That doesn’t always happen. We just have to take it one game at time. I don’t see any reason to panic or do anything drastic. … We just have to win the next game.”
Game 3 is on Thursday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, with the puck drop scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
Wayne Gretzky’s wife Janet responds to critics questioning his loyalty to Canada, Bobby Orr's support following 4 Nations drama