In a physical, chippy game filled with extracurriculars after the whistle and plenty of pushing, shoving and fighting, the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers 6-1 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night. The two teams combined for a Stanley Cup Final record 140 penalty minutes, but Oilers star winger Evander Kane believes Edmonton got the short end of the stick from the officiating crew at Amerant Bank Arena.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Kane called out the referees for letting the Panthers "get away with" more than the Oilers, who were assessed 21 penalties to the Panthers' 14.
"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."
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Evander Kane on the officiating in Game 3 pic.twitter.com/eez3fPDEgh
"...You look at some of the calls, obviously some of them are frustrating," Kane said. "They seem to get away with it more than we do... They're doing just as much stuff as we are. It was 4-on-4 at the end of it and it gets out of hand. There seems to be a little more attention on our group."
Kane denied that the Panthers "got under" the Oilers' skin, but Florida's agitation-inducing, bullying style of play did seem to wear thin several of Edmonton's players at one point or another, resulting in some mental errors. Left winger Viktor Arvidsson collided with Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in the first period, leading to a goaltender interference penalty and a power play goal for Florida. Oilers defenseman Jake Walman had his glove stolen by Panthers left winger A.J. Greer, who then threw it onto the bench, leading Walman to grab his water bottle and spray the Florida players on their bench. Even Kane himself was whistled for cross-checking and high-sticking in the first period, then wasejected after slashing Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe in the third period.
And while Kane was not pleased with the fairness of the officiating, he still believes Edmonton's level of play was not up to their standards.
"Look, we didn't play very well," Kane said. "That's evident. We have nobody to blame but ourselves. But we can definitely be a lot better."
After capturing a Game 1 overtime victory on a Leon Draisaitl goal, the Oilers have lost two straight, a double-overtime heartbreaker in Game 2 and a frustrating rout in Game 3.
They'll look to right the ship in Game 4 on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Oilers Star Calls Out Refs After Ugly Game 3 Loss to Panthers.
