Evander Kane's second hat trick of season fuels Oilers' win

SEATTLE — Evander Kane stressed the importance of what it means to be a volume shooter with the great irony being that he only needed just three shots for a hat trick.

The consistently prolific winger's hat trick led the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-4 victory Saturday against the Seattle Kraken. For Kane, this was his sixth career hat trick and his second this season.

«It's nice to help contribute to an important win, obviously,» said Kane, who scored three times Nov. 1 in a 7-4 win against the Nashville Predators, as well. «It's big points with the division so tight. I've been in and out of the lineup with injuries all year, so just trying to get into some rhythm heading into the playoffs and tonight definitely did that.»

What makes seeing Kane's latest exploits potentially promising for the Oilers is the context it provides. Kane indeed has endured an injury-riddled season that began with missing more than nine weeks after his wrist was deeply cut by a skate blade in November only to return in January before sustaining another injury in February that kept him sidelined until March 9.

Kane's first goal was a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that beat Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer, who left the game in the second period with a non-COVID illness, on the Oilers' first shot of the game.

His second goal was a byproduct of a loose puck recovered by Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who fed a centering, cross-ice pass that Kane converted on a one-timer for a 3-1 lead with 19:17 left in the second period.

The Kraken rallied to cut the lead to 4-3 until the third period when Kane flew down the left side of the ice and fired another wrist shot that sailed over the glove of Kraken goalie Martin Jones for a 5-3 lead