Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch speaks out on Evander Kane's dominance in playoffs despite missing entire regular season

Evander Kane has been a force to be reckoned with for the Edmonton Oilers in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After missing the entirety of the 2024-25 regular season following abdominal surgery and a separate knee procedure, Kane has hit the ground running in the postseason.

The 33-year-old has shown no rust upon his return, having already racked up seven points (four goals, three assists) in nine playoff games thus far. He's also provided his usual physical presence, delivering 36 hits in the process.

It's fair to wonder where Edmonton would be without Kane, whose name popped up in trade rumors at the deadline. On Tuesday, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch was asked how Kane has jumped into action so seamlessly in the postseason.

The Oilers shared the full media availability on YouTube on Tuesday.

"I think there's a couple of factors," Knoblauch said (Timestamp: 0:17). "One, he's an extremely gifted athlete. He's very strong, fast, powerful. He has an upper hand on that area of the game on most players. The other one is, you know, he likes the competition. He likes the level of intensity, and the game means more.

"At this time of the year, he rises to that occasion where you see other guys maybe wilt, but he likes the competitiveness and type of game. And also, you mentioned the game changes. It changes more to what fits his style: more physicality, harder to get to the net. There's more battles, more hits. So, those are all attributes that he's good at."

Evander Kane has one more season remaining on the four-year, $20,500,000 contract extension signed with the Oilers in 2022.

Evander Kane went back to the Rolls-Royce entrance in Game 4

After a Game 3 loss in which he arrived in a Ferrari, Evander Kane returned with the Rolls-Royce in Game 4.

It just so happened that it resulted in another Oilers victory. Gentleman's Playbook shared the clip of his entrance on Monday on X.

"All black Rolls. All black suit. @evanderkane is at it again, arriving in style for 4 in Edmonton tonight," Gentleman's Playbook wrote.

Fans now await how Kane will arrive for Game 5 in Vegas. Oiler fans hope that it will once again be in a Rolls-Royce. Kane's Oilers will look to wrap up their second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 on Wednesday. The puck drops at 9:30 p.m. EST at T-Mobile Arena.