Oilers’ Darnell Nurse reveals area where Edmonton has to ‘be better’ in Game 4

The Edmonton Oilers left Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final searching for answers after a brutal 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. Now trailing two games to one in the series, the Oilers are well aware of where things went wrong.

Edmonton’s defenseman and alternate captain Darnell Nurse put it simply—They need to be better.

Penalties told the story of the night.

Edmonton handed Florida chance after chance with repeated trips to the box. The Oilers committed 21 penalties for a staggering 85 penalty minutes, the highest total in a Stanley Cup Final game in nearly four decades. Those mistakes fueled Florida’s offense and gave their top players endless time with the puck.

Nurse admitted that the team’s lack of discipline has become a problem. He said they put themselves a little bit too much in the penalty box and gave Florida’s top players more opportunities to touch and play the puck.

“I mean, we put ourselves a little bit too much in the (penalty) box and you have to kill, and it gives obviously their top players more opportunities to go there and touch the puck and play the puck,” he said. “So yeah, we’ve got to be better in that department.”

Florida wasted no time taking advantage. Just 56 seconds into the game, the Panthers struck first. From there, Edmonton’s penalties kept piling up, and Florida capitalized.

The Panthers went three for eleven on the power play in Game 3 and have now scored five power-play goals on seventeen opportunities across the first three games.

Even Edmonton’s power play, which has been one of the most dangerous all season, has cooled off. The Oilers have converted only three of sixteen opportunities in the series, sitting at 18.8 percent. Without strong special teams play, Edmonton has struggled to keep pace with Florida’s relentless attack.

The frustration boiled over when Nurse dropped the gloves with Florida’s Jonah Gadjovich. The fight summed up Edmonton’s night. Emotion got the best of them, and discipline slipped further away.