Photo via @recordsANDradio

During the Caps-Oilers line brawl in the third period, Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates had a hall-of-fame meltdown on the bench. After hearing what the penalties were from officials, Oates flashed his teeth like a predator trying to scare its prey. He also cursed.

GIFs by welshhockeyfan

What on earth had Oatesy so mad?

Thanks to a question from NBC Washington’s Adam Vingan, we now know why. Oates thought Ovechkin’s hit, which started the melee, was legal.

“My first view of it — you know, it’s in the corner, that’s a tough corner for me — I thought the guy had the puck as Ovi hit him,” Oates explained during his post-game press conference. “And clearly, you know, those guys are on the ice to stir it up, which we understand. I thought that maybe the referee made a mistake there. He thought it was interference. He thought the puck had been long gone.”

Judging by this GIF from SB Nation, the puck was indeed, uh, long gone.

However, long live the #OatesFace.