Evander Kane has struggled this season. The big power forward has 2 goals and 1 assist in his last 13 games. He is still shooting at a decent rate, averaging more than 2 shots a game and is throwing his body around but I would be hard pressed to call many of those shots "dangerous."

Part of that is certainly because of his demotion to the third line and that he is playing with Derek Ryan and Mattias Janmark; defensively sound players but certainly not high skill options. The problem is Kane himself has been an absolute drag on offense for the top six.

Here are Draisaitl's 5 on 5 on ice numbers with Evander Kane.
223 minutes - 118 shots for vs 130 shots against - 8 goals for vs 9 goals against

Now look at Draisaitl's 5 on 5 on ice numbers without Evander Kane.
373 minutes - 324 shots for vs 248 shots against - 23 goals for vs 19 goals against

Now McDavid with Kane
100 minutes - 50 shots for vs 54 shots against - 4 goals for vs 5 goals against

And McDavid without Kane
493 minutes - 460 shots for vs 288 shots against - 34 goals for vs 21 goals against

When Kane is paired with McDavid or Draisaitl, that line struggles to produce chances. Kane has never been a dominant defensive player but his complete collapse in the offensive zone is making him a liability at both ends of the ice.

Now it's clear Kane is dealing with injuries, likely still recovering from his ailments from last season that included a gruesome wrist injury. That injury may never fully heal and Kane may not ever be the player that he was. That is not his fault.

That all being said, the coach and the organization are responsible for putting the best team out on the ice on a nightly basis and breaking up the McLeod-Draisaitl-Foegele line which has been excellent seems to run counter to that strategy. Clearly Knoblauch is trying to get the big man going. Like the Connor Brown top six experiment, the question will be how many games of struggling will the coach put up with before they accept it simply may not work.

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As I wrote about yesterday, tonight the Oilers will have an excellent test against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto is coming off a string of tough losses and begin a roadtrip which starts in Edmonton. I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest this is a "must-win" game for the Leafs. Meanwhile the Oilers are riding high on a 10 game winning streak and have put themselves back not only in a Wild Card position, but also to finish as high as 2nd in the Division and claim home ice advantage (the Canucks are looking firmly entrenched in the #1 spot right now).

Edmonton played a poor game against the Hawks and squeaked out a win, and strong games against the Red Wings and Canadiens where the score made the game look closer than it truly was. The Oilers outshot the Red Wings 47-17 and the Canadiens 41-24. Typically the Oilers best players come out strong whenever they get to faceoff against some of the best players in the league. That is exactly what they will be doing tonight against the likes of Matthews, Marner, and Nylander.

We will see how Kane fairs back in the top six against an aggressive team like the Leafs. Maybe this is just the motivation he needs to get rolling again, or maybe he shows the coaching staff once and for all he can't be trusted with those minutes.

Thanks for reading.

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