Oilers coach has promotion and high praise for Evander Kane
For a team to succeed in the Stanley cup playoffs, every player has to be on the top of their game. Oilers forward Evander Kane may have had a tough year overall, but now he's showing up exactly when the team needs him.
Now, Kane has been promoted back to the second line full time, and coach Knoblauch has high praise for the power forward.
Kane has fully bounced back in the playoffs, and has been a huge part of the domination of the Kings in the first round so far. Kane has 14 shots, 11 hits, a goal and an assist in the first three games of the series. On top of this, Kane has been an absolute pest against the Kings, getting under their skin and resulting in multiple Kings ejections. Knoblauch recognizes the change in Kane's game in the playoffs and made sure to sing his praises.
»If I was playing against him, I wouldn't be comfortable out on the ice with Evander just because of how physical he is. He's been helping our team a lot.
Knoblauch makes sure to show his confidence in Kane, and compliments his great physicality during the series. This includes a promotion to the second line to play with Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl. This is where Kane was his most successful at the start of the season, so he may be able to bounce back to his great performance.
Another huge part of Kane's play that Knoblauch was really impressed with was his forechecking. Kane is relentless on the forecheck and never gives the other team any time to set up. He has fully adapted to playoff hockey and seems to be playing his best hockey when it matters most.
| POLL | ||
Seeing their performance after 3, how far do you think they'll make it? | ||
| Second round | 22 | 11.4 % |
| Third round | 25 | 13 % |
| Cup finals exit | 30 | 15.5 % |
| Possible cup winners | 116 | 60.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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