Injured Oilers’ Forward Could Miss Start of Stanley Cup Final

Getty Edmonton Oilers forwards Evander Kane and Zach Hyman celebrate a goal.

The Edmonton Oilers have reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006 but they might have to start the series without a near-45-point scorer.

Right winger Evander Kane left Game 6 with an injury and although he returned to the bench, he didn’t skate at all through the third period of the series-clinching match against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, June 2.

EDM DAL G6. June 2, 2024. Evander Kane down the tunnel after hit on Alex Petrovic. 🎥: Sportsnet | NHL

Kane suffered his injury in the first period of Game 6 after completing a body check on Stars player Alex Petrovic. Kane went straight to the locker room through the bench and the arena tunnel in visible discomfort.

The forward finished Sunday’s match logging a total playing time of 4:39 TOI, his lowest mark in the playoffs by a sizable margin. Before suffering this injury, Kane had never played fewer than 13:08 minutes in any other game through the conference finals throughout 17 postseason games.

Oilers’ Head Coach Provides “Optimistic” Update

Head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed after Game 6 that he removed Kane from the game for “injury-related” reasons.

The coach, however, left the door open for speculation regarding Kane’s availability for Game 1 of the finals against the Florida Panthers, kicking off Saturday, June 8.

“Yes, it was obviously injury-related,” Knoblauch told reporters in his Game 6 postgame press conference. “Fortunately we’ve got this week before we play on Saturday, and we’re optimistic he’ll be playing on Saturday.”

With this being the playoffs and nobody wanting to show their cards more than needed, it’s fair to say there is not much clarity about Kane’s availability. The franchise may offer no more updates until Saturday’s morning skate. It won’t be clear if Kane will play until pre-game warmups.

Even following Knoblauch’s “optimistic” update, there is a chance Kane doesn’t play in Game 1 if only for Edmonton to preserve him for future games throughout the finals matchup without risking a setback.

Evander Kane Suffered From A Sports Hernia Before Playoffs

If this news feels like Deja Vu, that’s because it is.

A little over a month ago, on April 21, the news involving Kane painted a similar scenario. Kane was questionable to play Game 1 of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings then.

“Not sure,” Kane told reporters following practice on Sunday, April 21 regarding his availability for the playoffs opener. “It’s nice to finally get a little bit of rest. I’ve been dealing with a sports hernia kind of all year. It was just getting worse and worse, so I thought it would be good to take a week off for the playoffs and see how I feel.”

Back then, Kane was coming off sitting the final three games of the Oilers’ regular-season schedule due to load managing and rehab reasons related to his sports hernia.

Kane, however, ended up in the Game 1 lineup and skated for a bulky 16:02 minutes completing 2 hits and posting a neutral plus/minus in Edmonton’s 7-4 victory over the Kings on April 22.

Kane’s Eventful Regular Season in Edmonton

Not only has Kane dealt with injuries, but he’s also been involved in a few other stories featuring arguments with teammates, illegal hits, and league fines.

Most recently, on April 7, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced the NHL handing Kane a maximum $5,000 fine for slashing Calgary Flames forward Dryden Hunt in a game played on April 6.

Edmonton’s Evander Kane has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for slashing Calgary’s Dryden Hunt.

Before getting that fine, Kane had already been fined once earlier in the 2024 season. The NHL fined Kane $2,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct against Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger during a game played in Columbus on Thursday, March 7.

Finally, during the game against the Flames in which he completed the illegal slashing, the match broadcast showed Kane having a heated exchange with teammate Corey Perry on the bench.

HOLD ON HOLD ON HOLD ON…HER SISTER WAS A WITCH RIGHT?

The Oilers beat Calgary 4-2 in that game but Kane’s argument with Perry grabbed most of the headlines.

Now, nearly two months later, both are seemingly at peace and locked into beating Florida in the Stanley Cup Final to bring the cup back to Canada for the first time since 1993.