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Injuries are part of hockey, as well all know, but Edmonton Oilers winger Evander Kane went through his left wrist being sliced to the bone with a skate blade back in November, then broken ribs in February, finishing up reportedly with a fractured finger on his right hand in the playoffs.
He had 13 goals in 15 games in the playoffs last spring, when healthy.
He had three goals in 12 games the post-season this spring, when hurt.
Repaired body parts and a broken offence. No excuses, but harsh fact.
Kane could still hit in the playoffs, and he didn’t shy away from that, but when the Oilers needed help for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the top six against L.A. and especially in round 2 against Vegas, he was compromised. He did score three times in the Kings’ series, including one in the last four minutes of Game 4 in L.A. to tie it and they won in OT to deadlock the series 2-2, but he took several maintenance days or morning skates off and in the six games against Vegas, while playing about 20 minutes on average, he couldn’t shoot the puck with any power.
He didn’t score. He only managed an assist.
“Playoffs, everybody’s battling through stuff,” said Kane.
So did he break his finger?
“Yeah, I had some stuff but there’s no excuses for anything on the ice.”
“Obviously this year was a very unique season with the type of injuries I had. It wasn’t like they were a groin or hip issues, injuries that I could do anything about,” he said. “I look forward to getting back healthy.”
Kane, who turns 32 in August, has played 84 total league games over the last two seasons. Last year, he didn’t join the team until halfway through after signing as a free-agent, and had 22 goals and 39 points in 43 games. This season, he played 41 games with 16 goals and 28 points.
Everything Kane shot, especially in the first two rounds against L.A. and Calgary in the 2022 playoffs, seemed to go in. He had 10 goals in his first 10 games and looked like he might challenge Jari Kurri and Reggie Leach’s all-time best 19 in the playoffs.
It was more of a struggle this time around, for sure.
“I’d be lying to you if I said it didn’t (injuries this season) factor into it, how you feel,” said Kane. “But at the same time, I try to look at myself as an individual to see what the team needs. For a particular game or a particular series. In the L.A. they were a staunch defensive team and we got goals up and down our line-up. The Vegas series, we wanted to ramp up the physicality. At the same time, would I have liked to contribute more (offensively)? Yes.”
Kane had one funny scene in Vegas in Game 2 with a woman along the glass when she flipped him the bird after Kane had delivered several punches to a fallen Keegan Kolesar’s stomach. He blew her a kiss and showed off his five fingers to emphasize the 5-1 score.
Kane was also seen in pre-game warm-up with bare arms, the sleeves of his jersey and his elbow pads rolled up his tattooed arms.
“Just selling the game,” laughed Kane, a week or so ago.
SOME MEMORIES STICK AROUND
Oiler goalie Stuart Skinner did keep his cracked stick that almost cost the Oilers in Game 6 of the L.A. series April 30, when his stick betrayed him on a clear-the-puck attempt while the team was on the power play and Phil Danault scored.
It didn’t go in the garbage can outside the dressing room.
“The stick’s in my basement and I’ll find a spot on my wall to hang it up,” he said.
“It’s important to keep the stick as a reminder that it’s life. When I look at that stick it shows me about perseverance, that things didn’t go well, but that’s OK. You’ll battle back. Remember for myself and my teammates,” said Skinner.
“If you watch Rocky Balboa it’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s how many times you get back up.”
SOUVENIRS OF LOST SERIES
Mattias Ekholm showed up at the final press gathering with the area around his right eye cut and badly bruised. “I look a little rough, yeah. A high-stick late in the last game we played,” said the Oiler defenceman, who worked wonderfully with partner Evan Bouchard for two and half months after the Nashville trade.
“I tried to be a steady presence for him. Obviously he needs to play offensively and play close to the edge in terms of turnovers or what the general public would look at as weak or risky plays,” said Ekholm. “But if he doesn’t do them, I don’t think he should be in the line-up, even. That’s his game.”
“From Day 1 since I got here, he’s been taking steps himself. It’s nothing I’ve said or talked to him about. When I first came here, he was just scratching the surface. He just needs to be put in the right direction and he’ll take off. And you guys all saw his coming-out party these playoffs. He was a force on the back-end for us.”
Bouchard, who had 17 playoff points, played 31 minutes in the Game 6 loss. He needs a new contract, either they work on a bridge deal, probably in the $4 million range, or a long-term deal for a lot more.
THIS ‘N’ THAT
Draisaitl says he’s talking to the German Hockey Federation people about whether he’ll join their team at the worlds in Finland. In the round-robin, they’ve lost three games, all by a goal, to Sweden, Finland and USA…Hyman got kneed by Nic Hague in Game 3 as the Oiler winger tried to jump to avoid an open-ice hit and he either had a charley-horse or a knee issue. “I don’t want to get into it too much. You get banged up in the playoffs. Felt better as the series went on,” said Hyman, who took some team skates off… Kane said the Oilers 5-on-5 play could have been sharper in the playoffs, for sure. “It’s something we’ll have to be better at, not only offensively, but defensively. Sometimes the power play covers up some mistakes or things can be overlooked over the course of a season.”…The Oilers have two weeks to decide whether to offer winger Patrik Puistola, the Finnish kid they got from Carolina for Jesse Puljujarvi, a contract or he’s a free-agent June 1. Puistola isn’t on the Finnish world championship team roster….Oscar Klefbom ($4.167 million), Mike Smith ($2.2 million) and Ryan Murray ($750,000) come off the books as long-term injury players July 1. Milan Lucic ($750,000, Calgary trade) and Andrej Sekera ($1.5 mil buyout) as well but James Neal’s $1.91 million buyout is still there for two more years on the cap…The As it stands today, the NHL draft is a hurry up and wait for the Oilers, who won’t pick until No. 56 in the second round in Nashville. Then, not again until the fifth, sixth and seventh. First-rounder went to Nashville for Mattias Ekholm, third-rounder to Arizona for Nick Bjugstad, fourth-rounder to Philly for Derick Brassard.
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