April 23, 2025 by Ryan Lotsberg

317 days have passed since Evander Kane last played in an NHL hockey game. He went -3 in only 10:33 of action in a 4-1 loss that put the Oilers down 2-0 in the series. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch took Kane out of the series after Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Kane had been playing with multiple core injuries that had hampered him throughout most of last season, and it clearly became too much to continue playing through. At long last, Kane will make his return to the lineup for Game 2 of the Oilers’ first round series against the Los Angeles Kings.

Related: Kane goes onto LTIR after all

Kane had surgery to address two torn adductors, two hernias, and two torn lower abdominal muscles on September 20, 2024. He originally started noticing problems early last season, which would be sometime in either October or November of 2023. He played the entire season and 20 playoff games with the injuries. Kane also had surgery to address a knee issue that arose while recovering from his abdominal surgery on January 9, 2025. 

Those surgeries have kept Kane out of the lineup until now. Knoblauch said that Kane and John Klingberg both received medical clearance to play this morning. Kane said that he was feeling ready to go last week, but did not receive medical clearance until today. 

There was some speculation that the NHL was closely monitoring situation involving players returning from long-term injuries in Game 1 of their series. Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog hasn’t played an NHL game since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. He played in two AHL games for the Colorado Eagles before the NHL regular season ended. Landeskog did not play in either Game 1 or Game 2 for the Avalanche, but Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said there’s a “good chance” that Landeskog will play tonight as well. Meanwhile, Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk was activated from LTIR in order to play in Game 1 of their series, and there were no rumours of the NHL taking issue with the Panthers for that.

Kane could also have been held out longer to give him a little bit of extra time to shake off some rust in practice before getting into game action. Regardless, Kane will get the chance to contribute in Game 2.

Kane had a business-like attitude while talking to the media earlier today. When asked how excited he is to get back in the lineup, he calmly said “It’s obviously been a long time since I last played a game, you know, nice to get in and get an opportunity to contribute.” He was then asked what the toughest part about coming back in this situation would be, and he said “I don’t know, I’m not really thinking about that at all… it’s the playoffs, it’s Game 2, we’re down 1-0 in the series, so thinking is not going to help me.”

Kane will start on a second line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman. The trio hasn’t played together all that much, but they have a 55.56% five-on-five goal share and a 58.53% five-on-five expected goal share in 114 minutes together since 2022-23. It’s an intriguing second line.

I’m on record as having said that I didn’t think it was a good idea to start Kane in the top six if he was going to play at all. I’m nervous about where his game will be coming off of a significant surgery. He says that he feels a lot better now than he did at this time last year, which bodes well; but feeling good doesn’t necessarily mean that Kane will be in peak form. 

Kane is a veteran with 930 regular season games and 76 playoff games to his credit though. It’s still hockey, just a bit faster than usual. Kane understands that, and his personality type is one that thrives in the intensity of a playoff battle. Sometimes the best thing to do is to get dropped in the deep end and start swimming. Kane and the Oilers will hope that he swims rather than sinks in his debut. Kane’s toughness, physicality, and smack talking will be useful additions to the Oilers as long as he can keep up to the pace of play. I’m viewing any offensive production early in Kane’s playoff run as a bonus.

Jeff Skinner will come out of the lineup for Kane after he got as assist in his first career playoff game in Game 1. He was also on the ice for three five-on-five goals in Game 1. Klingberg will also return to the lineup tonight. Klingberg will replace Josh Brown, who barely saw the ice in Game 1.

Oilers lines for Game 2:

Skinner