Oilers' Evander Kane has very short response when asked about scratch

Although coach Knoblauch explained Kane's scratch as maintenance, everyone was reluctant to believe that. Kane was seen having an argument on the bench with Draisaitl against the Leafs, and he's been mired in a 16 game goal drought. He is dealing with some nagging injuries that he can play through, but the scratch felt like it was about performance, not maintenance. When asked about missing last game, Kane kept his answers very short. He only said that he feels good, and that he guesses the maintenance day helped.

In an interview with Mark Spector in January, Kane let on that it was tough to see his ice time and opportunities declining. He's clearly unhappy with it, but realizes now isn't the time to complain - the less he says, the better.

His response to the scratch yesterday feels very similar to the comments made in January, leading more credence to the idea it was a performance related scratch - and Kane may not be so happy with the decision. In the rest of the interview Kane was happy to talk about the team and excited for the stretch run, he just wishes things were better for him individually right now.

Now returning to the lineup tonight outside of the top-six again, Kane really just has to find a way to quiet the noise and play his best game. When he's at his best, Kane is a high-impact player for the Oilers and critical for their success as an elite power forward. Right now, he's not playing with that level of intensity or making an impact on the scoresheet, and he deserved to sit for a game.

In the next few weeks, it needs to be a priority for the Oilers and coach Knoblauch to get Kane going again, and have him find his game for the playoffs.