Evander Kane will not dress for the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight (as per Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman). Kane was diagnosed with a sports hernia at the start of the playoffs but is holding off until after the season to have surgery. Kane has rarely practiced during the playoffs but has managed to play through the injury to this point.
Tonight’s scratch will be Kane’s first of the playoffs, which is surprising given the ailment he is dealing with. Kane hasn’t been physically healthy throughout the postseason but has still managed four goals and four assists in 20 games. Despite his best effort to remain in the lineup and produce for the Oilers, the 32-year-old has struggled as of late with just a single assist in his last nine games.
Corey Perry will take Kane’s place in the lineup.
In other evening notes:
- Michael Russo of The Athletic is reporting that former Ottawa Senators assistant coach Jack Capuano may be inching closer to a job as an assistant coach of the Minnesota Wild. Capuano was an associate coach with the Senators and the team opted to non-renew his contract making him free to join any team. Capuano coached Ottawa’s defense last season and the results weren’t great, although Ottawa’s team defense overall was poor as was their goaltending. The 57-year-old was previously the head coach of the New York Islanders, a position he held for seven years, compiling a 227-192-64 record.
- TSN is reporting that the Ontario Hockey League’s board of governors is approving the relocation of the Mississauga Steelheads to nearby Brampton, Ontario. While the team is moving cities, it’s not much of a change as Mississauga’s Paramount Fine Foods Centre is just seven kilometres away from the Steelheads new home in Brampton, the CAA Centre. Brampton previously had a team up until 2012-13 when the Battalion moved to North Bay, while Mississauga will be without an OHL franchise for the first time in 26 years.