The first two weeks of the season have not been kind to a few of the top Stanley Cup contenders.

Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch and his staff successfully challenged a goal by the Florida Panthers at a crucial juncture of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Connor McDavid has been the best player on the ice as the Edmonton Oilers rallied to force a sixth game in the Stanley Cup Final after falling behind 3-0 to the Florida Panthers.

Connor McDavid had two goals and two assists that added to his historic postseason, Evan Bouchard added three assists and the Edmonton Oilers fended off elimination yet again by beating the Florida Panthers 4-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night.

Firing a coach during the season is typically seen as a sign that a season has gone off the rails.

It looks like the Edmonton Oilers made the right move when they made a coaching change early in the season.

The Edmonton Oilers have fired coach Jay Woodcroft after a team that was supposed to be a Stanley Cup contender lost 10 of its first 13 games.

New York Rangers' Mika Zibanejad (93) scores against Philadelphia Flyers' Carter Hart (79) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 17, 2021, in New York. (Bruce Bennett/Pool Photo via AP)NEW YORK – Mika Zibanejad had three goals and three assists in New York’s seven-goal second period, and the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 9-0 Wednesday night. Hartford Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch and associate head coach Gord Murphy, and Rangers associate general manager Chris Drury were behind the bench. Ad“You didn’t have much time to think about it,” Knoblauch said when asked about pregame preparation as the acting head coach. “Nothing about this game was any good,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said.