Evander Kane slashes and shoves a linesman in final preseason game.

This could mean huge trouble for San Jose Sharks star forward Evander Kane.

On Sunday night the Sharks were facing off against the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Kane simply let his emotions get the better of him. Kane was involved in an intense battle with Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland along the boards and it was clear that Kane was not too happy with the way he was being manhandled by Engelland. Kane attempted to signal to the referee to get a call but none was forthcoming, at least not until the very moment that the two men decided to resume skating up the ice in an attempt to return to the play.

At least that was what Kane attempted to do but he was closely followed by Engelland who still wanted to give Kane a piece of his mind, and perhaps a little more. That however proved to be the moment that things went very badly for Evander Kane. You see one of the linesmen on the ice saw Engelland's pursuit of Kane and decided to interfere by restraining the Golden Knights defenseman, right as Kane delivered a sharp slash towards Engelland's legs. Unfortunately the blow appeared to catch not only Engelland's legs but that of the linesman as well, and the National Hockey League official was none too pleased about it. 

This is where I feel the linesman also acted poorly and may have even escalated things as he suddenly grabbed Kane and tackled him down to the ice, clearly a result of his frustration at being slashed. The referee continue to tangle with Kane as they regained their feet, and Kane once again crossed the line, this time delivering a very intentional shove to the chest of the linesman. Needless to say this was enough to see the red hot Kane ejected from the preseason game, and you have to wonder if there might not be more discipline coming down from the National Hockey League here. 

I will state again that Kane clearly instigated this incident by slashing the NHL official, although that was clearly not his intention, but I do think that the actions of the official will have to be weighed as well if a suspension is forthcoming.

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