Edmonton Oilers

Perry Fires Back: Danault Says Oilers Played ‘B Squad’ to Hurt Kings

Kings’ Phillip Danault accused the Oilers of trying to hurt the Kings with their B squad and Corey Perry fired back.

by
Jim Parsons
April 15, 2025

Tensions are boiling over as the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers get set for their upcoming first-round playoff series. As the Kings trounced the Oilers 5-0 on Monday, the game got feisty and nasty, with several penalties called, misconducts, and game ejections. Kings’ center Phillip Danault didn’t mince words when asked what was going on out there. He accused the Oilers of icing a “B-squad” with malicious intent.

“They just have their B-squad in trying to hurt us,” Danault said postgame, clearly frustrated by the tone of the game.

The comment came after Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse was ejected for a dangerous cross-check to the head of Kings forward Quinton Byfield. With Edmonton already resting captain Connor McDavid and dealing with injuries to Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Evander Kane, Trent Frederic, Jake Walman, and Mattias Ekholm, the Oilers’ lineup featured a number of depth players and call-ups.

Corey Perry Has Heated Response to Danault

Veteran forward Corey Perry responded sharply to Danault’s accusation.

“What the fu— sorry, excuse my language. What do you want us to do? Did he not look at what’s happened the last couple of weeks?” Perry said. “We’re not out there to hurt anybody. Nothing else — move on.”

Corey Perry Oilers Danault — Corey Perry of the Oilers responds to Danault’s claim

Perry refused to comment further, but it was clear he was annoyed by the insinuation that the Oilers would intentionally sit their best players when home-ice advantage of the playoffs was on the line, and untimely injuries have decimated Edmonton. The Kings-Oilers rivalry already had a reputation for being chippy. Having faced each other for three-straight playoffs, Monday’s game showed everyone that this is only going to get more intense.

When the Oilers are healthy and able to dress players like Frederic and Kane, it will be interesting to see how the Kings respond.

With emotions already running high, this series is going to be interesting, and a 5-0 score is not likely to indicate the outcomes of what could be a seven-game war. Connor Brown said after the game, “It’s a frustrating one tonight, but come next week, it’s gonna be exciting. We have a high sense of belief in this group, we think we can do something special.”

Next: Could Untimely Injuries for the Oilers Affect a McDavid Extension?