A look at how Oilers’ Kasperi Kapanen went from waiver wire pickup to OT playoff hero

But much like how his career had gone, Kapanen struggled with consistency and moved up and down the Oilers’ lineup throughout the season. Yet at one point back in January, he said about his Oilers club, “This is the best team I’ve ever been on.”

To me, that meant he was willing to do whatever it took to find a spot on the team, just to be a part of it. And he did. He showed his versatility throughout the season, playing anywhere in the lineup and even spending time in the press box without any complaints.

Additionally, he also stood up for his teammates and even earned a spot on the Oilers’ penalty kill, where he played the sixth-most minutes among forwards (45:15 minutes) in the regular season. He even slid over to play center thanks to his strong skating, down the playoff stretch, when McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were sidelined.

Yet, the Finnish forward struggled to produce down the stretch, having not scored since Jan. 23, and as the playoffs approached, other players passed him on the depth chart with the return of Evander Kane and Trent Frederic — whose size and physicality were prioritized over speed — leaving him out of the Oilers’ lineup to start the postseason.

Kapanen Is Making His Playoff Presence Felt

That said, back in January, I gave Kapanen an honourable mention after a productive 1G and 1A week, stating:

“Kapanen has been a great pickup, and his versatility to play anywhere in the lineup will be a valuable asset come postseason time.”

And when he finally made his playoff debut for the Oilers in Game 4 against the Golden Knights, he lived up to that statement.

He didn’t play in the Oilers’ first nine playoff games, but head coach Kris Knoblauch said he wanted to inject more speed into the lineup, putting Kapanen in for Viktor Arvidsson. True to the versatility he’d shown, Kapanen was tasked with playing on a line with Vasily Podkolzin and Leon Draisaitl for Game 4, primarily in a shutdown role to neutralize the Jack Eichel line.

The Kuopio, Finland native made his presence felt immediately in Game 4 — like a cannonball unleashed, he threw three crushing hits that ignited both the Rogers Place crowd and his teammates. Moreover, if the goal was to shut down Eichel, consider it a success, as his line and the entire Vegas squad were held scoreless in a 3-0 Oilers win in Game 4.

Then, in Game 5, Knoblauch kept the Podkolzin–Draisaitl–Kapanen line intact for most of the game, once again preventing the Eichel line from scoring. And just over seven minutes into overtime, Darnell Nurse shot the puck on net, and Kapanen relentlessly whacked away at the rebound, scoring the game-winner and sending the Oilers to the Western Conference Final.

To summarize Kapanen’s journey over the last couple of years — he’s been placed on waivers twice, changed teams, worked hard to carve out a role on the Oilers, and was then bumped from the lineup to start the playoffs, only to become an overtime hero in Oil Country, where he should never have to pay for another drink or green onion cakes, in the city ever again. He said in the post-game interview after Game 5:

“There’s so many good players on this team that I understood when [Knoblauch] told me I wasn’t going to start, playing against L.A. and that was fine, the team was playing really well so we weren’t changing anything with our line up, which was understandable.” He added, “I knew eventually I’d get a chance, and just being patient, being ready.”

Without a doubt, Kapanen’s patience paid off as he sat out until his name was called and made the most of his opportunity by adding another clutch goal to his résumé, which already includes scoring the OT winner for Finland at the 2016 World Juniors to capture gold, as well as a double-OT goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2017.

Where his Oilers playoff journey goes from here is unclear, but with the incredible clutch goal he scored against Vegas, he’s earned the right to be in the lineup for whoever the Oilers face in the next round. Moreover, if Knoblauch wants speed in the lineup, Kapanen should definitely stay. According to NHL Edge data, the 28-year-old’s top skating speed hit 23.26 MPH in the playoffs so far, putting him in the 97th percentile in the NHL.

Overall, Kapanen has been very effective in his 14:41 average TOI in the two playoff games, scoring one of the biggest goals of his career in Game 5, of course. He’s also thrown eight hits, and he and his linemates not only shut down the Eichel line but also swung momentum in the Oilers’ favour, with Natural Stat Trick showing the high-danger chances were heavily in their favour, 7-1, when he’s been on the ice.

Much like the Oilers have shown throughout the entire postseason, Kapanen has displayed nothing but resilience, sticking with it through the ups and downs. And just like many fans remember where they were when Fernando Pisani scored that Game 5 OT winner nearly 20 years ago, years from now, people will be asking, “Where were you when Kasperi Kapanen scored his Game 5 winner to send the Oilers to the Western Conference Final?”