Oilers' Evander Kane alleges referees' favoritism towards Panthers after penalty-filled Game 3 Stanley Cup Final

Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane alleged favoritism from the referees after a heated 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night. The Oilers were called for 21 penalties and 85 penalty minutes, while the Panthers had 55 penalty minutes.

The Panthers capitalized on the power play, scoring three times with the man advantage. The Oilers only scored once on six power-play chances.

Kane said that there seemed to be more attention on Edmonton from the officials. (0:23 onwards)

“I think the game obviously got out of hand at the end there. That stuff is going to happen. You look at some of their calls and whatnot—obviously some of them are frustrating.

“They seem to get away with it more than we do. It's tough to find the line. They're doing just as much stuff as we are. It was 4-4 at the end of it and then it gets out of hand. There seems to be a little bit more attention on our group.”

The Oilers took four penalties in the first period, including three offensive zone infractions and a too-many-men penalty. Evander Kane was assessed with two penalties. They had just one penalty in the second period before the game spiraled out of control in the third.

A wild scrum erupted when Oilers forward Trent Frederic confronted Sam Bennett, sparking a full-on brawl that involved all 10 players on the ice. Even more altercations followed, leading to 16 Oilers penalties in the third period alone. Kane was ejected in the period after slashing Carter Verhaeghe.

Edmonton's 85 penalty minutes were the most by a team in a Stanley Cup Final game since 1986.

Evander Kane’s take on Oilers' start in 6-1 loss against Panthers

Corey Perry provided the lone goal for the Oilers, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Panthers scored with six different players. Brad Marchand, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues, and Aaron Ekblad added goals.

Sergei Bobrovsky had 32 saves. On the other end, Stuart Skinner allowed five goals on 23 shots before getting pulled early in the third. Calvin Pickard took over and made seven saves in relief.

Evander Kane reflected on the Oilers' slow start, which led to their defeat.

"I mean, obviously, you know both teams took four penalties in the first period, they had a two-nothing lead and obviously not the start you want in the road."

The Oilers trail the best-of-7 series 2-1, and Game 4 is set on Thursday.