Significant absentee at Oilers’ practice ahead of Game 1

Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft did not make fans feeling any better after practice on Wednesday, when it was quickly noticed that top forward Evander Kane was absent from the skate.

According to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, Kane has missed a few morning skates and when he asked Woodcroft about what it could mean for tonight’s’ Game 1 of the second series against the Vegas Golden Knights, the bench boss’ lone answer was: “we’ll see what comes out the gate tonight”.

In the first round series against the Los Angeles Kings, Kane was skating with captain Connor McDavid and star Leon Draisaitl. With Kane missing from practice on Wednesday, Dylan Holloway was the one slotted in Kane’s spot instead.

In the six-game series against LA, Kane collected three goals and four points, but also put up eight penalty minutes. He will need to be careful if he is in the lineup as the Golden Knights have been incredibly disciplined. They were the only NHL team to be shorthanded less than 200 times this season (195). Second place was the St. Louis Blues, at 217.

This is a developing story as we keep a close eye on the warmups later tonight in Vegas.

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