The Los Angeles Kings are on the ropes in their Round 1 Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Edmonton Oilers following their 6-3 setback in Game 5 at Rogers Place Tuesday night.
And one Oilers player who has played a major role in his team's success against the Kings, just as he did in their Round 1 series last season, is Evander Kane. Not only did he score in Tuesday's Game 5, but he also tallied the game-tying goal late in Game 4, setting the stage for Zach Hyman to pot the overtime winner.
In fact, his 16 postseason goals the last two seasons are good for best in the entire NHL. The only problem with Kane right now is that he's noticeably hurt. He's already dealt with not only broken ribs this season, but also the frightening wrist laceration that kept him out of action for several months.
According to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman in his latest "32 Thoughts" podcast, Kane is battling not one but various ailments.
“He’s got at least two injuries. He’s got I think a lower and an upper-body injury,” Friedman opined. “There’s something on his leg that’s bothering him, I think there’s something up higher that’s hurting him a little bit. He’s playing through a ton of stuff."
Kane, who has played in all five playoffs games so far, has lit the lamp three times. He and the Oilers will look to punch their ticket to the second round of the postseason for the second straight year when they take on the Kings in Game 6 at Crypto.com Arena in downton Los Angeles tomorrow night.
