“It’s about bailing each other out sometimes and finding ways to work through the mistakes,” said a beaming Ryan Nugent-Hopkins after the Oilers got on level terms with Dallas in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. With that, the Edmonton forward pointed out how important it is for the team to band together and have each other’s backs. And no one seems to have their back covered more than Edmonton captain, Connor McDavid.
The Pacific Division’s third-place finishers wriggled out a massive 3-0 victory against the Dallas Stars yesterday. And now, as Game 3 waits to head back to the Oilers Nation, it looks like things are getting heated up. Courtesy? The Stars’ coach took a sly dig at Connor McDavid following Darnell Nurse’s slashing on Roope Hintz’s right leg in the third period of Gam 2. But the Oilers’ coach believes such potshots are only warranted when you’re one of the best at your job.
“Does anyone in this room think if Connor McDavid gets carried off the ice like that, it’s not a 5-minute major?” Pete DeBoer asked the reporters during the post-match presser on May 23. With that sentence, the Dallas boss made it clear that he thought that the NHL turned a blind eye to Nurse’s slashing on his player. However, in a post on X by TSN from May 24, the Oilers’ coach, Kris Knoblauch, brushed off the allegations coming at his squad captain.
“Obviously, after a game, you’re emotional, especially when your player doesn’t return,” Knoblauch said with a frown. “But to say that Connor McDavid gets preferential treatment, you know, I’ve been coaching for 200 games, and I haven’t seen Connor get that special treatment,” the Edmonton boss asserted.
“I think the standard is actually against him, just to say that he doesn’t get any special treatment.”
Knoblauch refutes DeBoer’s question that suggests McDavid might get ‘special treatment’. pic.twitter.com/y0nqSZVZke
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 24, 2025
“Probably he gets a standard that’s higher for him,” said the coach with a hint of a grin, suggesting that Conor McDavid’s phenomenal talent warrants that he is judged against the more strict benchmark than most of his peers.
The story is developing
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