Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane was hospitalized on Tuesday night after suffering what looked like a serious wrist injury during a game.
Kane got tangled with Lightning defenseman Philippe Myers just inside the Edmonton defensive zone and, while fallen on the ice, was cut by Tampa Bay forward Pat Maroon’s skate blade during the second period. The moment was taped, and footage of the alarming accident has since been shared widely on social media. It shows Kane’s blood pooling on the rink before the player jumps up and skates to the sidelines.
The Oilers, based in Canada’s Alberta province, ultimately secured a 3-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in their competitors’ home arena.
Kane said Wednesday morning that he was “on the mend” and plans to return to the rink after recovering, although he will not play in the Oilers’ next game.
“Thank you all for the kind wishes and prayers from over the past several hours. Obviously last night was an extremely scary moment for me and I’m still in a little bit of shock,” he wrote in a message to his followers on social media. “I would like to thank the entire training staff of the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lighting, along with all the doctors and paramedics who rushed to help treat and repair my injury. Without all of you I know things would’ve been much worse and I’m sincerely grateful.”
Noting that he “won’t be back next game,” Kane added, “I will be back and I look forward to being back on the ice playing the game I love alongside my teammates in front of our great fans.”
The Oilers originally confirmed that Kane was transported to a hospital for treatment shortly after the incident happened on Tuesday. He was in stable condition and scheduled to undergo a procedure later that night, the team said at the time.
“After suffering a wrist injury early in the second period, Evander Kane is stable and has been transported to hospital for a procedure later this evening,” the Oilers wrote on Twitter.
“The news that I’ve received so far, it’s very limited, is that he’s in a good spot,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. “He’s getting well taken care of.”
Lightning Coach Jon Cooper said “you cringe when you see that.”
“It was tough to see. Hopefully he’s going to be OK because you know, hockey, you battle against each other. It’s a war (but) we’re still a family.”
Kane grabbed the lacerated area with his right hand and rushed to the bench before heading for the locker room.
“It’s scary, certainly scary,” Oilers star Connor McDavid said. “I think you could feel the energy in the entire rink kind of just get sucked out. We’re thinking about him. We’re hearing he’s doing OK, but that’s obviously initial.”
McDavid scored a goal and made an assist for the Oilers, whose win on Tuesday broke a three-game losing streak. Jack Campbell made 35 saves, and Warren Foegele and Leon Draisaitl added goals.
Campbell made a number of strong saves during the final minute.
McDavid extended his point streak to eight games, and now has 14 goals in 14 games this season. Draisaitl, meanwhile, has a five-game goal streak, and a point in nine consecutive games. McDavid and Draisaitl scored power-play goals during the opening of the second period, which put the Oilers ahead 3-1. Killorn made it 3-2 just 49 seconds into the third.
Cooper called McDavid and Draisaitl “human highlight films.”
“Think about McDavid, we’re in the best league in the world, with the fastest players in the world, and he sticks out like a sore thumb,” Cooper said. “Draisaitl, he’s just a horse. He’s got the whole package.”
Brandon Hagel and Alex Killorn scored the goals for Tampa Bay, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 26 shots.
Lightning star Nikita Kucherov extended his point streak to 11 games with an assist, but had his six-game goal streak snapped. He left briefly late in the second period after being slashed on the wrist.
