Oilers' Evander Kane doesn't look happy about decreasing ice time
It’s been a rough start to the season for Edmonton Oilers winger Evander Kane.
The 32-year-old hasn’t been his old self to start the season, recording just a single assist in five games and struggling to make an offensive impact on the ice.
A lingering wrist injury is partially to blame, but that isn’t a good enough excuse for the team. Head coach Jay Woodcroft dropped Kane down to the third line for Saturday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Though his offensive struggles continued, Kane was much more physically involved during the 3-2 overtime loss. He laid a few thundering hits in the corners and even dropped the gloves in a heavyweight fight against Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon.
Evander Kane and Brenden Dillon go toe-to-toe. 🥊 pic.twitter.com/D72sqG6mDF
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 22, 2023
Kane fighting while his wrist is still healing might not seem like the best idea, but it was the first legitimate sign of life that the power-forward has shown this season.
Of course, this fight meant that Kane was forced to sit for five minutes in the penalty box, something that he mentioned during the second intermission in an interview with HNIC’s Scott Oake.
“I didn’t play much in the first period, so I thought might as well get into a fight and take seven or eight minutes in the box,” said Kane.
Drama in Oil Town, Evander Kane was not happy with his ice time last night
🎥: @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/fCrdWfVBcD
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) October 22, 2023
Oilers fans are used to Kane making tongue-in-cheek comments like this. He most recently lamented that “The sky was falling” after the team dropped the first two games of the season. However, there was a notable lack of a smile or the obvious hint that he was joking with this comment.
Kane finished the game with 14:04 in ice time and an xGF% of just 42.88, which was fourth lowest on the entire team.
This is another sign that the team is quickly getting frustrated with the lack of positive results to start the year. Leon Draisaitl snapped at a reporter after the game and, to make matters worse, Connor McDavid suffered an apparent injury late in the third period.
If ice time is what is concerning Kane, some better play on the ice and some goals would probably go a long way. So far this season Kane has failed to live up to his $5 million cap hit and has played to a team-worst xGF% of 35.48 in his 72 5v5 minutes this year.
Playing better should be at the top of mind for Kane, rather than ice time.
Kane was there physically…but they don’t pay him $5 million on the cap to throw punches. He has been a black hole for offence to start.
Again, early but the fanbase can still hear the echos of Lucic https://t.co/clQZMRa7bC
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) October 22, 2023
He’ll get another opportunity to get back to his old self when the Oilers are in Minnesota to play the Wild on Tuesday.
Follow Channels and Categories