The Edmonton Oilers took a decisive victory in Game 3 versus the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night with a 6–1 victory at Crypto.com Arena. After being largely stifled in Game 2, the stars of the Oilers were back in full force. Connor McDavid (one goal and two assists), Leon Draisaitl (two goals and one assist), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (three assists), and Zach Hyman (two goals) dominated play and guided the Oilers to victory as they take a 2–1 series lead over the Kings.
But one last goal was unaccounted for amongst those four players. It was scored by Evander Kane. On a point shot from Cody Ceci, Kane, standing in front of the net, was in perfect position to deflect the puck in past Cam Talbot. He also contributed a sneaky drop pass that fooled Talbot as he sent the puck back to Draisaitl as he skated around behind the net.
We saw the start of Kane showing signs of life in Game 2. He laid a huge hit on Drew Doughty early in the second period that sparked the team and was a massive turning point contributing to Edmonton’s comeback in that game. Although they ultimately lost that one in overtime, the seeds were planted.
For Kane, they started to sprout in Game 3.
Kane’s contribution to Game 3
The Kings were relentless in their attempts to goad Kane into retaliating and taking bad penalties. But he did not bite. Instead, he held back enough to seemingly further annoy the Kings into taking more bad penalties of their own. This allowed the Oilers a collection of late power plays that negated Los Angeles’ ability to tie the game in the third as Edmonton capitalized on these power plays to put this game away.
After taking a dirty hit to the head from Andreas Englund just over five minutes into the third period, Kane fought the Kings’ defender to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick, the third in Oilers playoff history and first since Craig MacTavish back in 1986.
After returning to the bench following the shenanigans in the third period, Kane received a warm welcome from his teammates, acknowledging his importance and huge contributions to the battle in Game 3.
This is the version of Kane that the Oilers need in the middle of their lineup to help lead the way to postseason glory. Edmonton needs him engaged physically, that is when Kane is at his best. And if his composure through game three is an indication, he is showing that he can be trusted to stay on the non-penalty side of retaliation.
