Evander Kane will play for the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night in Los Angeles in Game 2 of their playoff series against the Kings.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed both Kane and defenceman John Klingberg will be in the lineup with Edmonton down 1-0 in the first-round National Hockey League clash.
Kane skated on a line during Wednesday morning’s pre-game skate with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, and will replace Jeff Skinner in the lineup. Klingberg is expected to play in place of Josh Brown, who logged four minutes of ice time in Game 1.
The 8 p.m. game will be the first action of the season for the rugged veteran Kane after he had a series of surgeries to address several injuries. He last played for the Oilers in the second of last June’s seven-game Stanley Cup Final.
Klingberg has been sidelined for much of the last two months after playing a handful of games in spurts since the defenceman signing with the Oilers in January. The 32-year-old previously starred as a top-pairing blueliner for the Dallas Stars and was playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season when he went down to a hip injury, playing just 14 games.
Knoblauch admitted he doesn’t expect Kane “to be at 100 per cent” given how long it’s been since the 33-year-old forward last played, but he said he’s confident in his physical play and scoring finish will bolster the Oilers’ attack.
“He’s healthy. He’ll be able to finish checks, play his kind of game,” Knoblauch told media after the pre-game skate.
“Shooting the puck, there’s no hesitation there. He can shoot the puck as well as always. It’ll be the other things – moving his feet, getting that speed and his hands being quick (that will take time to come up to speed) – but we certainly feel that (while) there’ll be some rust, there’ll be a lot of good things, attributes that he’ll be able to bring our team and throughout the playoffs.”
Knoblauch said Klingberg’s experience and skills will be welcome, too.
“He’s been out for several weeks now, but he’s a guy that’s had a long NHL career, a lot of playoff games,” Knoblauch said. “He can handle the pressure in the moment.”
“There might be a little nervousness but nothing that’s going to impact my game in a negative fashion.”
— Evander Kane
Kane has been an ‘X’ factor for the Oilers in the three post-seasons he’s played in since joining Edmonton in January 2022, leading the team in goal scoring with 13 in his first spring run with them as they made it to the Western Conference final against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. Last year, he scored four goals and four assists for eight points in 20 playoff games.
Kane said after the morning skate he’s not concentrating on his long stretch out of action, rather what he can do to “help the team win.”
“It probably helps that we’ve played this team four years in a row, so it feels like any other game playing the Kings in this barn,” he said. “I enjoy it. It’s a fun atmosphere to play in.
“There might be a little nervousness but nothing that’s going to impact my game in a negative fashion.”
