Edmonton Oilers face a potential conundrum with Evander Kane

The Edmonton Oilers finally woke up on Saturday night for game four of the Stanley Cup Final. The result was a thorough 8-1 beat-down of the Florida Panthers, as they showed the hockey world how dangerous they can truly be.

The question is, does this represent the beginning of a turnaround in this series? Will the Oilers come back from a 3-0 deficit to do something only achieved once before by the Toronto Maple Leafs way back in 1942, and win the Stanley Cup?

Or is the 8-1 thrashing in game four merely delay the inevitable of a first Stanley Cup win for the Panthers? While also haunting the Oilers and their fans, with thoughts of what might have been?

We will of course find out in the coming days, as the series shifts back to Florida for game five on Tuesday night. If nothing else though, the Oilers do seem to have finally started having things go their way.

Along these lines, there was some more positive news on Sunday, when Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch provided an update on Evander Kane. Speaking to the media, he said: “Evander’s going with us (to Florida) and there’s a possibility (he will play in game five). We’ll just evaluate his health and make a decision then.”

Now in theory and under normal circumstances, to potentially have Kane back in the lineup would be an excellent boost for the Oilers. He’s one of the team’s more productive scorers, while also being arguably their most physical and intimidating towards opponents. (And annoying too.)

However, these are not normal circumstance for the winger, who has been dealing with a sports hernia issue all season. Now throw in another undisclosed injury which he suffered in the series-clincher versus the Dallas Stars in the previous round, and he has been compromised even more.

Kane did play in games one and two of the Stanley Cup Final, but he was clearly a shadow of his usual self. He was limited in every way, from his physical impact, to his offensive threat, to his minutes played.

This led to questions, including from us, about how smart it was to continue playing the 2009 fourth overall pick? His ineffectiveness clearly compromised the team as a whole, with his body no longer able to cope with his injury issues.

Thankfully for everyone concerned, Knoblauch made the smart decision to sit Kane and give him a proper break. As frustrating as this must have been for the player, this resulted in him not suiting up for games three and four back in Edmonton.

Now as Knoblauch effectively said to the media on Sunday, just because the 32-year-old is travelling to Florida, it doesn’t mean he’s going to play. And in reality, even if he is passed as fit, you can still contemplate if he should actually be back on the ice.

Consider how well the Oilers have played in their past two games, particularly with the offence finally becoming more clincal in front of the Panthers’ net. Theoretically at least, bringing Kane back into the lineup could upset the continuity and compromise the team, as it did so when he previously played in games one and two. (Although in fairness, we should add that those two games were on the road rather than at home.)

Overall though, we appreciate that this might all be an unnecessary concern, especially if Kane is not passed as fit to play. Ultimately though, Knoblauch is a cerebral coach who has continually made the right calls ever since taking over from Jay Woodcroft as Oilers coach, and he will do whatever’s right for the team.