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Oilers’ Kane leading charge as playoff difference-maker
Inside this “we” sport, Evander Kane has always been one to stand out. But that’s what makes him who he is, and perhaps, what allows him to accomplish what he has this spring for the Oilers.
EDMONTON — National Hockey League players have never had the flair of their football or basketball brethren. Maybe it’s all us Canadians, but hockey culture has always encouraged the boring.
Fitting in is in. Standing out is out.
But inside this “we” sport, Evander Kane has always eschewed the team bus. Instead, “he” arrives at arenas in Ferraris and Rolls Royces, the camera crew on alert to record and post his entrance — a type of entrance Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid would never make.
But that’s what makes Kane who he is. And perhaps, allows him to accomplish what he’s accomplished this spring. Writing a comeback story through the first 10 games of the playoffs that has been written once by Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and perhaps by no one else in recent memory.
“It’s hard to sit out a whole year and then come right into the playoffs,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch of the forward’s return. “The L.A. Kings are a good team, and (for Kane) to come and contribute right away …”
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In a game where getting up to speed in May when you’ve missed an entire season is nearly impossible, Kane has not only hopped onto the moving train, but he was driving the train in Game 4 versus the Vegas Golden Knights.
Ten months and two surgeries removed from his last NHL game, Kane has played nine of Edmonton’s 10 playoff games. He has twice as many playoff goals (four) as either Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews or Mitch Marner (two each), and his seven points would place him third on the entire Golden Knights playoff roster.
This isn’t Mark Stone or Patrick Kane missing the back half of the year and re-joining their team for the playoffs. Kane’s last game was in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, nearly a full year ago.
And if you think he’s surprised at what’s going on, well, then you don’t know Evander Kane very well.
“Am I surprised? No,” he said. “But I didn’t necessarily have any expectations.
“I had confidence. I didn’t really have any set expectations.”
This is the Evander Kane that makes it all worthwhile.
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Hit by hit, goal by goal, every ounce of outside-the-box that Kane brings to a team is paid back at this time of year — in spades. He’s different all season long, then he’s different in the playoffs too — and the Oilers have grown fine with that.
“Evander is a gamer. He loves the big pressure games when there’s a lot on the line,” said Knoblauch. “The physical play, scoring a big goal for us, crashing the net, winning puck battles. He’s contributing a lot for our team.”
As a team, the Oilers finished dead last in the NHL in hits this season — a season missed entirely by Kane — averaging just 15 hits per 60.
With Kane in the lineup, his style of play has caught on as the Oilers are third among playoff teams, averaging 35 hits per 60.
“With the physicality, we’ve got a lot of it through the lineup,” Knoblauch said. “(Zach) Hyman … (Adam) Henrique, (Vasily) Podkolzin, (Kasperi) Kapanen. It’s nice having that element, but the guy who leads the charge is Kane.”
How does a player get up to seed as fast as Kane has?
“A couple of reasons,” began Knoblauch. “One, he’s an extremely gifted athlete. He’s strong, fast, powerful.
“The other one is, he likes the intensity. The game means more at this time of year. He rises to the occasion, where you’ll other guys wilt. He likes the competitiveness,” Knoblauch said. “The (playoff) game changes to fit his style. More physicality, harder to get to the net. There are more battles, more hits.”
He was a force in Game 4 against Vegas, with a goal, an assist, four shots on goal, six hits and a plus-3 rating in a 3-0 win.
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He affected the game, “from every standpoint,” said Henrique. “We talked about playing with energy right off the bat, and Kaner gets in there, mixes things up, and other guys are following suit, just shift after shift.
“You want to play on that line. And you know, we ended up with a few more penalties in the first in them, but … we continued to push that line and play with that energy from start to finish.”
A year ago, Kane skated more gingerly through the payoffs, destined for major abdominal surgery and a knee procedure as well.
This spring?
“He’s moving, skating, his agility, everything is much better,” Knoblauch said. “The skill, being able to make plays on the wall, plays under pressure. Last year he didn’t practise very much and your mobility is laboured. It’s difficult to play.
“This year he’s much more healthy, he’s making plays, he’s getting up and down the ice better. He’s putting more oomph into the hits. Looks like a different player.”
