Kris Knoblauch was fuming after last night's fifth consecutive loss and even went as far as calling several Oilers players passengers in his rant. The Edmonton Oilers extended their losing streak to five games on Thursday with <a href='https://thehockeywriters.com/panthers-use-strong-third-period-to-defeat-oilers-4-3-in-stanley-cup-final-rematch/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers</a> in a rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch was not sugarcoating things in his postgame availability, stating that he was disappointed in the way his team performed. We had some pretty good performances by some guys, but to get out of a funk like this when things aren't going well we need everybody, Knoblauch told reporters. I thought there was a few passengers. For the most part, most of the guys did everything they could. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class=instagram-media data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=https://www.instagram.com/p/DGn5e0PRRwz/?igsh=NWwyODNranlhMDNx&fbclid=IwY2xjawIu6ptleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHS3ARD7AYMHhgWO5RRnzOhMKw76Cc-IhOIOsOW6FapUM8z84IMTHZUwQwQ_aem_KBqrBho6R1optPmdT77NaA data-instgrm-version=12 style= background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);><div style=padding:16px;> <a href=https://www.instagram.com/p/DGn5e0PRRwz/?igsh=NWwyODNranlhMDNx&fbclid=IwY2xjawIu6ptleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHS3ARD7AYMHhgWO5RRnzOhMKw76Cc-IhOIOsOW6FapUM8z84IMTHZUwQwQ_aem_KBqrBho6R1optPmdT77NaA style= background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%; target=_blank> <div style= display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;> <div style=background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;></div> <div style=display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;> <div style= background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;></div> <div style= background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;></div></div></div><div style=padding: 19% 0;></div><div style=display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;><svg width=50px height=50px viewBox=0 0 60 60 version=1.1 xmlns=https://www.w3.org/2000/svg xmlns:xlink=https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink><g stroke=none stroke-width=1 fill=none fill-rule=evenodd><g transform=translate(-511.000000, -20.000000) fill=#000000><g><path d=M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631></path></g></g></g></svg></div></a></div></blockquote></div> <h3>Despite the five losses, the Oilers are still in good position in the standings</h3> However, even with the losing streak, Edmonton remains in control of its playoff fate with <a href='https://www.nhl.com/standings/2025-02-28/wildcard' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>a seven-point lead over the Vancouver Canucks for the final wild-card spot.</a> Leon Draisaitl extended his league-leading goal count to 44, scoring in a seventh straight game. Aside from Draisaitl, Connor McDavid (73 points) and Evan Bouchard (45 points), though, the offense has been few and far between. Zach Hyman, with a career-high 54 goals last season, has just 20 in 54 games this season. <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/edmonton-oilers/edmonton-oilers-linked-to-canadian-superstar-goaltender-ahead-of-the-trade-deadline' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Goaltending remains a topic of debate</a> with the March 7 trade deadline looming. While trade speculation has linked Edmonton to the Ducks and Utah Hockey Club for an upgrade, TSN's <a href='https://x.com/PierreVLeBrun' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Pierre LeBrun</a> reports that the Oilers are going to ride with Stuart Skinner, who is 20-15-4 with a 2.87 GAA and a .898 save percentage. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Sports1440/status/1894175478849966448'> </a></blockquote></div> Despite the recent struggles, Knoblauch saw some bright spots in Thursday's loss. I think the guys competed really hard on the walls and around the net. 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 and guys are really feeling it or really squeezing their sticks, we need everybody, Knoblauch said. The Oilers will look to end the road trip on a high note Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes, another streaky club with just two wins in their last seven games.