The Edmonton Oilers are absolutely flying at the moment. On Sunday, they took a 2-1 series lead in the Conference Final—but they also benefited heavily from a questionable decision by the officials, which had Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer fuming.
The Oilers collapsed in Game 1 of the Conference Final, ultimately losing 6-3. But since then, they’ve looked like a completely different team. Sunday’s win gave them a 2-1 series lead, putting them just two wins away from returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year.
Although the Oilers won Game 3 in dominant fashion, 6-1, they had some luck on their side early on. In the first period, an Oilers player appeared to shoot the puck directly out of play from his own zone—a textbook delay of game penalty.
Pete DeBoer furious
But somehow, after reviewing the play, the officials ruled that there would be no penalty. Replays clearly showed Brett Kulak putting the puck over the boards and out of play, yet no call was made.
The missed call didn’t just rob the Stars of a power play—it proved costly. Just 10 seconds later, Evan Bouchard scored the opening goal, and moments after that, Connor McDavid made it 2-0. Instead of being short-handed, the Oilers scored twice in just 36 seconds. Unsurprisingly, Stars head coach Pete DeBoer was livid about it. In a mid-period interview, he didn’t hold back.
“No,” DeBoer said when asked if he was satisfied with the officials’ explanation. “It should’ve been a penalty, and then a minute later they score two goals.”
On social media, basically everyone agreed with the Stars coach, with some even suggesting that it’s obvious that the NHL are doing just about everything to get the Oilers through to the finals.
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