Upon beating the Los Angeles Kings by a 4-3 score in Game 5, the Edmonton Oilers punched their ticket to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night.
And while both fans and players were pumped up to conclude the series at home at Rogers Place, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch headed to the tunnel a little prematurely.
So early, in fact, that the first-time bench boss nearly forgot to take part in one of the NHL’s greatest playoff traditions: the handshake line.
Luckily, Knoblauch was stopped by assistant equipment manager Brad Harrison, who appeared to give him a gentle reminder on his way to the tunnel.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch almost forgot about the handshake line šš¤£ pic.twitter.com/V9eNtB0uI0
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 2, 2024
To be fair, it’s possible that Knoblauch had other things on his mind, as Wednesday was also his and his wife’s 20th wedding anniversary.
Funnily enough, this is not the first time an Edmonton coach has experienced an awkward moment after a series win.
Back in 2022, during the Battle of Alberta, Knoblauch’s predecessor Jay Woodcroft got caught standing on the ice, waiting to shake the hand of former Calgary Flames coach Darryl Sutter.
After a short celebration, Woodcroft could be seen swinging the door of the bench quite aggressively, walking over to the Flames bench, and then holding onto the board and putting his other hand on his hip while he waited to see Sutter.
Itās no Jay Woodcroft exit šš https://t.co/CdnGEQdl3S
ā x- AMC Diamonds (49-27-6 ā 4-1 ) (@MattyPlumz) May 2, 2024
With their latest win, Edmonton will now sit back and wait to see who comes out on top between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators to determine who they will play in the second round.
No matter who they get, they’re hoping to end up on the right side of that handshake line once again.
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