Evander Kane is a Playoffs Difference-Maker for the Edmonton Oilers

Kane was driving the blue paint, the goalie’s crease. He was skating north and south and with a purpose. Not to mention the scrums he was in the middle of. When Evander Kane is at his best, he throws off the other team’s best players. That is what he did Monday night in Game 4 as the Oilers took a 3-1 series lead.

The best of Evander Kane in this game, Jay. I mean, all the different things that Evander Kane can bring to the table. He brought in spades, right. Basically in on all three goals, as you said, and kind of in different ways. The first thing he did in this game was he skated straight to the net, got into the blue paint, annoyed the opposition, and have a few words with Zach Whitecloud,” as Ryan Rishaugh told Jay Onrait on SportsCenter on Monday night.

“Well, then you look ahead to that first goal that they scored. It was Evander Kane in hard on a forecheck. But look at that hit from Evander Kane that was like Zach Whitecloud, who he had just been chirping at that turned the puck over. Then there’s that mess on the second goal. He said he was pushed in and but he goes to the net hard, and then this one bit of Lucky bounce there off a skate, but he drains one. So Evander Kane, he’s physical, he can score, he’s got a great shot, and he’s on the right side of it in every way right now Jay. So right, start to finish, from showing up in style on a night like this when the owners needed solid performances, he was exceptional.

This is the type of impact and playoff performance the Oilers expected from Kane when they signed him to that one-year deal in January of 2022 after the San Jose Sharks terminated his seven-year, $49 million ($7 million AAV) contract. Then, general manager and new/current general manager of the Los Angeles Kings, Ken Holland, felt that the Oilers needed an edge to recapture their past glory by bringing the Stanley Cup back to Edmonton.

That playoff season, Evander Kane played 15 games with the Oilers and scored 17 points (13 goals and four assists). That earned him a four-year contract in the summer of 2022. Though many thought it was not what the Oilers needed at the time of the signing, he proved that for the Oilers to be successful, you needed a guy who wasn’t afraid to muck it up a little bit.

Edmonton lost to the Colorado Avalanche, the eventual Stanley Cup Champions that year, in Round 2 of the 2o22 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Colorado had a player who played with an edge in Nazem Kadri. And we have seen in past playoffs that having that guy who isn’t afraid to get physical and play with an edge does wonders with the rest of the team. The Florida Panthers have that in Matthew Tkachuk.

The way he played against the Golden Knights in Game 4 of Round 2 made many wonder what a healthy Evander Kane might have done last year for the Oilers, who fell to Tkachuk and the Panthers in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final after they fell behind 3-0 to start the series.

It was clear Kane was not healthy last season, as he only had eight points (four goals and four assists) in 20 games. After playing in the first two games, he missed Games 3-7 of the Stanley Cup Final. He was dealing with the lingering effects of a sports hernia that had been ailing him dating back to the 2023 postseason, when he only had five points (three goals and two assists) in 12 games.

However, if Kane had been healthy for the Oilers last season in the playoffs, you have to think that the result might have been different for Edmonton.

The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs were the first time Evander Kane saw action. He missed the entire year due to hip and abdominal surgery in September of 2024 and knee surgery in January of 2025. There was some question about whether he could even play this season. Most thought he would play Game 1 against the Los Angeles Kings. He did not, as the NHL looked into Kane being on LTIR and whether the timeline matched, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

However, Kane suited up in Game 2 of Round 1 and has not come out of the lineup for the Oilers. He has played well alongside another guy who steps up in the playoffs, Adam Henrique. The Oilers’ depth is carrying them this season in the postseason as they are on a mission to get back to the Stanley Cup Final and finish the job this time. Evander Kane is a big reason why.

Just remember, there was talk that the Edmonton Oilers might have also traded Evander Kane at this year’s trade deadline. Right now they should be glad new GM Stan Bowman did not make that decision. He is the difference maker the Oilers desperately needed when the games get harder in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.