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Evander Kane Update and Thoughts After 3-2 Win Over Lightning |
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UPDATE
Since posting this blog news has broke that Kane will miss 3-4 months. That is a really tough blow for the Edmonton Oilers moving forward. Janmark and Kostin both have been recalled.
First and foremost it looks as though Evander Kane will be okay:
For those who did not see, there was a scary incident during the Oilers and Lightning game last night where after Kane fell to the ice after a hit (bordering on a slew-foot), Patrick Maroon skated through the play and inadvertently skated right over Evander Kane's wrist. Immediately there was a large amount of blood on the ice and Kane was panicked, immediately skating off the ice and calling for help.
It was a freak play and no one should bear any ill will to Pat Maroon for what happened. The good news is that Kane was stabilized immediately after the play by the emergency staff on hand for both the Oilers and Lightning and he was taken to hospital.
Right now we don't know exactly how long Kane will be out of the lineup but assuming that is was an artery that was cut, we are probably talking about months as opposed to weeks. Right now we should be more thankful that Kane is in good spirits and safe.
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As far as the game itself went, a number of players that have struggled this season came up in a big way. Warren Foegele who coming into this game had two assists in his last 30 games, dating back to last season opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal after McLeod did an excellent job pressuring and stripping the Lightning of the puck and work it over to Foegele. The relief on Foegele's face was obvious and that confidence continued the rest of the game. When the game was on the line in the final minutes, Woodcroft had Foegele out on the ice. The Lightning were pressuring hard and Foegele stepped in front of a shot in the final seconds to prevent a potential scoring chance.
Ryan Murray also played a decent game after being a healthy scratch as of late and saved the game from getting tied up (though the whole play may have been off-side too) by sweeping a puck away right before it completely crossed the goal line.
Perhaps the most crucial player to have a good game was Jack Campbell. Campbell has been his own worst critic which is warranted after his sub-par play this season, especially after the loss to the Stars. The Lightning roared out early with an 8-1 lead in the shot department but Campbell was able to turn all of them aside and let his team gain some momentum. Campbell finished with a 0.946SV% with 35 saves on 37 shots. It is something he can build off of.
As a whole the Oilers did something they have struggled with all season; killing penalties. The entire PK unit was far more aggressive and organized, attacking at the right moments to pressure the Lightning out of the zone and not collapsing into a scrambled mess. The Oilers killed off all five powerplay opportunities that Tampa had.
Kulak and Ceci were paired together for most of the game and did an excellent job against the Point line. I would keep that duo together for awhile and see if they can work as a shutdown line. I would not keep Barrie and Nurse together though. Bouchard and Nurse is a far better pairing.
He did not score but Jesse Puljujarvi is starting to look much more comfortable on a line with McDavid and RNH. It was the best game JP has had this season and was great on the forecheck and helping to keep the cycle go with Connor McDavid. Puljujarvi also finished with 5 shots on the night.
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We don't know how long Kane will be out but it appears almost a given that the team will place him on LTIR. As far as the cap goes, that does give the team some options for callups and the ability to ice a 23 man roster as opposed to the 21 that they have had to use.
With 5.1 cleared up on LTIR, we will see the Oilers call up likely as many as three players from the AHL. Janmark will almost surely be one of the names brought up as a veteran with real NHL experience and ability. I have also heard that Klim Kostin, the big centre who was acquired in the trade of Samorukov could be brought up as well. Kostin has 4 points in 9 games while Janmark has 4 points in 4 games.
Xavier Bourgault could be a call-up but I think that is too premature. Bourgault has looked great in the AHL with 3 goals and 3 assists in the first 9 games but the best plan is likely to keep him in the AHL all season. Bourgault is only 20 years old and playing in his first professional hockey season. Let him play crucial minutes with the Condors all season and re-evaluate him come next season.
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Here is my belief on what we will see going into Thursday's game against the Hurricanes:
RNH-McDavid-Puljujarvi
Holloway-Draisaitl-Hyman
Foegele-McLeod-Yamamoto
Janmark-Kostin-Ryan
Nurse-Bouchard
Kulak-Ceci
Murray-Barrie
Campbell
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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