Evander Kane fined for vicious slash and benched for rest of game

Last night's game certainly wasn't a high point for Evander Kane. He took a brutal slashing penalty behind the play, got in an argument with Perry on the bench, and was benched the rest of the game.

Now this afternoon, the NHL has announced a maximum fine for Evander Kane for his slash against Flames forward Dryden Hunt. Kane was penalized on the play, and it allowed the Flames within one goal early in the second period.


After this undisciplined play, Kane continued a stretch of poor play and made several turnovers in the offensive zone. This lead to Corey Perry calling Kane out on the bench at the end of the second period, clearly in a heated argument about Kane's poor efforts.



To make matters worse for Kane, coach Kris Knoblauch clearly wasn't impressed with his game either. Kane had less than 10 minutes of ice time last night, his lowest marker as an Oiler by far.



It's certainly a troubling trend of events around Kane, also harkening back to Draisaitl's public argument with him against the Leafs a few weeks ago. Kane clearly hasn't been playing his best hockey in recent weeks, paired with reports of being bogged down with a few nagging injuries. Heading into the playoffs, the Oilers need Evander Kane to be a positive impact on the team - right now, it's looking more like a distraction.