"Garbage, should be 5 and a game" "Bennett selling it like a king": Fans divided after Darnell Nurse hit on Sam Bennett gets called as 2-min minor

Less than two minutes into the first period of Stanley Cup Final Game 4, Edmonton Oilers’ Darnell Nurse had a knee-to-knee contact with Florida Panthers' Sam Bennett. This caused Bennett to fall on the ice and after a video review, Nurse was given a two-minute penalty.

At 1:53 of the first period, Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse appeared to be lined up for a hit, but Bennett moved out of the way, resulting in the knee contact. Bennett crawled to his feet and quickly went to the locker room as officials reviewed the play. He returned swiftly after a two-minute minor penalty was called on Nurse.

Fans let their opinions know about the play. Some believed Nurse deserved a more severe penalty while others felt it was unwarranted.

Following are some fan reactions from X/Twitter:

“Garbage. Should be 5 and a game.”

“Should be a major,” seconded another fan.

“Noticeable pattern of obvious dirty hits being downgraded,” quipped another user.

Meanwhile, some fans pointed out that Sam Bennett was back on the ice right after the penalty was called. They believed Bennett had accentuated the collision and his subsequent fall to get an advantage.

“Bennett selling it like a king.”

“Please address the flopping and embellishment. Bennet laid there looking for refs, crawled off the ice, had to be carried down the hallway, then 20 seconds later he is back out on the power play. Embarrassing for the league,” wrote one user.

“Incidental contact 100% both players simply ended up knee on knee. And bennet dives and goes to room to try for 5min... and is back out on pp,” commented another fan.

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Darnell Nurse hailed by former Oilers D-man Jason Strudwick

During the Stanley Cup final series, former Oilers defenseman Jason Strudwick heaped praise on Darnell Nurse for his role in the squad. Strudwick lauded Nurse's physical play and leadership, calling him the emotional leader and "apex predator" the team needs.

“He's the emotional leader of this team and can be an apex predator on the ice," Strudwick said on "SC with Jay Onrait". "We've seen Ekblad, Bennett, and Tkachuk do it for Florida. They [Oilers] need Nurse to do it as well."

"He needs to get physical and target the opposition's top lines. He's not worried about the challenge, but the team needs him to be that apex predator."

Meanwhile, Darnell Nurse has just scored the fifth goal of the night for the Oilers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers, at the time of writing, lead the Florida Panthers 5-1. Edmonton opened the scoring with Mattias Janmark's goal at 3:11, followed by Adam Henrique’s tip-in at 7:48. Vladimir Tarasenko got one back for the Panthers at 11:26, making it 2-1.

The Oilers, however, regained control and extended their lead with Dylan Holloway's goal at 14:48. In the second period, Connor McDavid scored at 1:13, and Darnell Nurse added another at 4:59. If Edmonton manages to secure a win tonight, they will avoid a sweep in the series, pushing it to Game 5.