Jake Walman’s Game 3 Antics: A Boost or Distraction for the Oilers?

In Game 3 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers, Oilers’ defenseman Jake Walman ensured the Panthers knew when he was on the ice… sometimes even when he wasn’t. In a game that got out of hand (a 6-1 drubbing by the Panthers), Walman wasn’t about to go down without a fight. He was in the faces of the Panthers players, stirring trouble, spraying water, and trying to get Florida’s players to react. It may or may not have worked, but it drew a ton of attention.

The question is, does it help the Oilers, or is it a distraction and childish behavior that could come back to bite the team?

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Walman Was Doing Everything He Could to Cause Trouble

Walman threw a couple of rights at Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk during a heated scuffle near the goal. In another sequence, he dropped Anton Lundell with a punch to the face. He mixed it up with Aaron Ekblad, pulled the strap off of Brad Marchand’s helmet, and then got into it with AJ Greer. In the most viral of his moments from Game 3, he was squirting water out of a water bottle from the Oilers’ bench into Florida’s.

Related: Panthers Dominate Oilers 6-1 in Chaotic Game 3 to Take Series Lead

Despite the Oilers suffering a tough 6-1 loss in Game 3, Walman’s passion and physicality were on full display. His antics and outright confrontations have earned him some love from the Oilers faithful but harsh criticism from others. Some believe his passion should be admired, with others think he’s acting like a child, and that his troublemaking did little and will do little as the series rolls along.

Is Walman’s fiery approach a good thing or a bad thing for Edmonton? Will it get him noticed by officials in a bad way? Or, will it fire up his teammates and get the Panthers players to take dumb penalties?

Is Walman Trying to Wake Up His Teammates?

On one hand, the Oilers’ struggles in Game 3 were concerning. With players like Walman showing unyielding passion, it’s a positive sign that at least one player on the team hasn’t given up. If the rest follow suit, his antics could energize a team and shift momentum. He said after the game, “It’s for the Stanley Cup… it’s a grown man’s game… guys are putting everything on the line.”

This kind of intensity is often crucial in playoff hockey.

On the other hand, excessive scrapping and penalties can hurt the team, especially when they are already down in the series. Spraying water onto the Panthers’ bench while the Oilers are being embarrassed isn’t a great look. Some might argue that this kind of behavior risks distracting from disciplined, focused play.

Ultimately, is Jake Walman’s “psychopath” passion (as one fan described it) the spark the Oilers need to fight back, or could it cross the line and become a distraction?

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