The Edmonton Oilers head to TD Garden to play the NHL's best team on Thursday night, and they'll have a huge piece of their lineup back with Evander Kane set to make his return from injury.
Kane hasn't played in over three weeks after suffering an upper body injury on Feb. 17, but the team expects him to be active against the Boston Bruins, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.
The 31-year-old winger has been plagued by injuries this season, missing the last nine games with the lingering ailment.
Kane missed three months of the season after sustaining deep cuts on his wrist in a win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 22. After being knocked to the ice, Lightning forward Pat Maroon accidentally skated over Kane’s wrist. He immediately went to the bench for assistance before eventually being transported to the hospital where he had surgery on the wrist.
After returning from the gruesome cut three months later, he was sidelined again less than a month later.
Kane has been great when healthy this season, scoring nine goals and 19 points to go along with 88 shots on goal and 66 hits in 24 games. All signs point to him skating on the top line with superstar Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman on Thursday.
“Oilers general manager Ken Holland announced last week that the hope was for Kane to make his return against the Bruins, and that at worst he would return March 14 against the Ottawa Senators,” per Sportsnet. “Barring an unforeseen setback, Kane is expected to hit the ice for the marquee matchup.”
The Oilers currently occupy a wild-card position in the NHL's Western Conference, with a 35-22-8 record on the campaign.
It'll be tough sledding against an outrageous 49-8-5 Bruins team that hasn't lost a game since Feb. 11; the B's have won 10 straight games to remain well ahead of the pack in the race for the President's Trophy.
Evander Kane should make an immediate impact for the Oilers playing with McDavid, and his high-energy game and physicality will be crucial for Edmonton down the stretch.
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