Evander Kane jokes "the sky is falling" after Oilers' rough start

Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane is keeping things light after the team’s slow start to the year.

The team entered the season with Stanley Cup aspirations but lost the first two games of the year to the Vancouver Canucks in 8-1 and 4-3 decisions.

In a media scrum following practice at Rogers Place on Monday morning, Kane was all smiles talking with reporters.

“We’re dead last in the league, 32, the sky is falling,” joked Kane. “We’re two games into the season, we got a zero winning percentage, we could be .500 in the next two games.

“We understand the expectations, the excitement, and obviously the desire to win in this city and we all feel the exact same way.”

"We understand the expectations, the excitement, the desire to win in this city."

Evander Kane speaks after practice at @RogersPlace before the #Oilers head to Nashville. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/qAmeXBTJbJ

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 16, 2023

That seems to be the overall attitude around the Oilers as the team prepares for their next game against the Nashville Predators. The season is still very young and it appears the messaging from the club is that they are not panicking just yet.

The Oilers have, however, changed up their forward practice lines on Monday morning to try to spark some more offence. Kane kept his spot on the team’s first line and is now expected to play with both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on Tuesday night.

That particular trio was put together in the third period of Saturday night’s game against the Canucks. The line spent 60 minutes together on the ice last season, getting outscored by the opposition by a 3-1 margin.

For Kane, this season is a pivotal one. His magnificent 39 points in 43 games start with the Oilers back in 2021-22 is a distant memory and he is coming off a brutal wrist injury that limited him to just 41 games and 28 points last year. He has yet to find the scoresheet this season.

You can watch Kane and the Oilers tomorrow night as they battle the Predators at 6 pm MT on Sportsnet West.

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