EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) 鈥� engaged Evander Kane in a conversation before the Edmonton Oilers started practice. The chat lasted roughly five minutes, and Kane left the ice just after hearing from his coach.
Kane has been playing through a sports hernia that has hampered his production, specifically one point in eight games. With the Oilers trailing the in the Stanley Cup Final, the time has come for a change: Kane was scratched for Game 3 Thursday night, his first time out of the lineup this playoffs.
鈥淓vander鈥檚 very beneficial to have in our lineup with physicality and hits,鈥� Knoblauch said Wednesday. 鈥淎nd as a coaching staff, we鈥檙e making those decisions and it鈥檚 difficult to measure it."
Hockey history is full of tales of NHL players gutting through painful injuries in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. In 1964, Bobby Baun scored for Toronto in overtime in Game 6 of the final after breaking his ankle in the third period. More recently, Patrice Bergeron played Game 6 of the 2013 final with a punctured lung, longtime Boston teammate Zdeno Chara finished the 2019 final with a broken jaw and Florida's Matthew Tkachuk scored a tying goal last year , then played another game before being sidelined.
Kane's situation, not being close to 100% healthy this late in a long run, is reminiscent of Tkachuk's, which Panthers coach Paul Maurice explained was one that eventually he took over decision-making for.
Tkachuk broke his sternum in Game 3 of the final against Vegas, and Tkachuk felt the heart-and-soul winger 鈥渆arned the right鈥� to play in Game 4.
鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 playing the next one,鈥� Maurice said. 鈥淭o his credit, he had three really good chances to score when we鈥檙e down a goal. He鈥檚 net front and if he鈥檚 healthy, based on the playoffs he鈥檚 having, he scores that goal. But he couldn鈥檛. It was all he could do.鈥�
Kane played just over 10 minutes in Game 3 of this final and was on the ice for two Panthers goals. He has not been practicing throughout the postseason but has badly wanted to remain in the lineup.
"There鈥檚 lots of guys going through different things," Kane said. 鈥淭here was a sports commentator that was talking a few years ago and it always stuck out to me: If you鈥檙e on the field, everybody expects you to be yourself, essentially, so if you dress, they expect you to perform like you鈥檙e at your best. Obviously. there鈥檚 reality, but at the same time, I think as an athlete that鈥檚 what you expect from yourself.鈥�
Knoblauch acknowledged earlier in the series that Kane has been limited and not his usual self. The calculus of deciding between how effective a key player can be while injured and making a change is not an easy one.
鈥淵ou look at what they鈥檙e contributing on the ice and even the leadership that they provide,鈥� Knoblauch said. 鈥淓very player鈥檚 different. What are they doing? Are they contributing on the penalty kill? Are they scoring a key goal? Or is it the physicality?鈥�
One benefit for the Oilers is their depth, with 14 forwards seeing action on this playoff run. Edmonton brought back veteran winger Corey Perry and inserted journeyman forward Derek Ryan as part of a shakeup that also included Sam Carrick being out.
鈥淜ris has made and the coaching staff has made some different decisions along the way, and everybody鈥檚 done a great job of stepping in and contributing, and guys who have gone out have stayed ready and jumped back in and helped just the same,鈥� captain Connor McDavid said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate that guys have to not play some games, but everybody鈥檚 pulling on the rope here. Everybody understands where we鈥檙e at.鈥�
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AP NHL playoffs: and
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
