HC Kris Knoblauch gets brutally honest about select Edmonton Oilers players after fifth straight loss

Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch shared his thoughts about the team's performance following the loss to the Florida Panthers.

The Oilers lost 4-3 to the Panthers in their Stanley Cup rematch on Thursday. It was the fifth defeat for the Oilers and the fourth straight since the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

Following the defeat, coach Kris Knoblauch expressed his disappointment with the team's performance. While acknowledging some individual efforts, he emphasized the need for a collective effort to overcome the current slump:

"That was by far our best effort. I thought we had some pretty good performance by some guys. But to get out of funk like this, when things aren't going well, we need we need everybody. I felt that there were a few passengers."

While he praised his team's effort, he expressed concerns about some players who didn't contribute as much as others.

There were some guys that just didn't put in the effort that we needed," Knoblauch added.

The Edmonton Oilers will look to end their skid when they face the Carolina Hurricanes away on Saturday. The Oilers are second in the Pacific Division with 74 points.

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Panthers coach comments after win over Edmonton Oilers

Despite the win against the Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice wasn't entirely impressed with his team's performance. He felt that they lacked intensity and that their overall play wasn't up to the mark.

“I thought the last eight minutes, we looked the way we’re supposed to,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “I really didn’t like our game tonight. I thought we put a lot of pucks in feet, looked away from a lot of pucks.

"We chose not to be as physical as I think we could have been. There won’t be a punitive skate (Friday), but we have played games that we have lost and I was really happy with our game. I didn’t love this one.”

Anton Lundell accumulated three points, while Aaron Ekblad picked up two points for the Panthers in the win. Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves and ended the game posting a .885 SV%.

The Florida Panthers moved atop the Atlantic Division with the win. They host the Calgary Flames at Amerant Bank Arena next on Saturday.