Evander Kane’s most memorable highlights with the Edmonton Oilers

As the Kings pulled their goalie in a late push for the equalizer, Kane broke free on a breakaway and slipped the puck into the empty net for his second goal of the night.

In Game 5, when L.A. won in Edmonton, Adrian Kempe scored the game-winning goal in overtime and held his hand to his ear as if he couldn’t hear the fans at Rogers Place. When Kane scored the empty-netter in Game 6 that sealed the Oilers’ win, he returned the favour by holding up seven fingers to the crowd at Crypto.com Arena — one of his most memorable moments in an Oilers uniform.

When Kane was asked in the postgame interview about what his seven fingers signified, he said, “It means Game 7, baby,” as the Oilers forced a pivotal Game 7. He further added, “It’s going to be juicy,” setting the stage for a high-stakes finale at Rogers Place, with the Oilers winning Game 7 by a score of 2-0.

Kane Scored a Natural Hat Trick Against the Flames in Game 3 of the 2022 Playoffs

Many years from now, when people think back to Kane’s time with the Oilers, they’ll especially remember the big series he had against the Calgary Flames in the second round of the 2022 playoffs. It was the first postseason meeting between the two Alberta teams in 31 years, with each team winning one of the first two games.

On May 22, 2022, with the series heading back to a fired-up Rogers Place for Game 3, the Vancouver, B.C. native treated the Oilers’ faithful to the full ‘Evander Kane’ show. Playing on the top line with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the power forward scored a natural hat trick in the second period alone — all off the rush and dripping with style and swagger, much like he showed throughout his time with the Oilers.

He finished off a feed from Draisaitl for his first goal, then buried two more off of McDavid’s passes, closing it out with a smooth forehand-to-backhand flick, as hats filled the ice at Rogers Place right after. All three goals came in just six minutes, electrifying the hometown crowd.

Additionally, it was Kane’s second hat trick of that postseason — the first came against L.A. in the opening round and at the time, he became the first Oiler to record multiple hat tricks in a single playoff run since Jari Kurri had four in 1985, as the Oilers went on to win the series 4-1.

Kane Blew a Kiss to Vegas Fan After Tussling with Kolesar in Game 2 of 2023 Playoffs

The Oilers squared off against the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 2 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vegas took Game 1, but Edmonton jumped ahead to a 5-0 lead in Game 2, and tensions naturally boiled over, with gloves starting to come off.

Late in the second, it all kickstarted when Brett Kulak dropped the mitts with Brett Howden. Meanwhile, at the other end of the rink, a couple of other scraps broke out, with Kane squaring off against Keegan Kolesar, landing punches on the Vegas forward while he was down. As they got up to separate, a rowdy Golden Knights fan gave the Oilers forward a double-handed one-finger salute, and Kane responded candidly by blowing a kiss, another vintage Kane moment with the Oilers, one that guaranteed meme status for years to come.

Thereafter, Nic Hague tried to fight Kane with just over five minutes left in the game, and both received 10-minute misconducts. That said, when Kane was asked about the incident with Kolesar in the postgame, he put it simply, “You don’t see a lot of guys getting jumped from behind and then headlocked,” He added, “When you wanna f*ck around, sometimes you have to find out.”

Kane Scored Late Game-Tying Goal in Game 3 Against the L.A. Kings in 2025 Playoffs

Kane missed the entire regular season of the 2024–25 campaign due to undergoing and recovering from multiple surgeries for injuries sustained the season prior, but he was set to go by playoff time.

He missed Game 1 of the opening round against the Kings, which the Oilers lost, but returned to action in Game 2 — his first game in nearly a year — as the Oilers dropped that one as well. By Game 3, though, it was almost like he had completely shaken off the rust from not playing in a long time. Edmonton was down 0–2 in the series and trailing 4–3 with just under seven minutes left in Game 3, staring down the possibility of a daunting 0–3 series hole.

Yet, Kane was moved onto the top line with McDavid and Draisaitl, and the captain threw the puck in front of the net late in the third. The big-bodied Kane hacked and whacked at the puck, which crossed the line to tie the game. The goal was automatically reviewed for a potential kicking motion and it was determined that Kane did kick the puck, but then knocked it in with his stick, making it a good goal.

Then, Kings head coach Jim Hiller challenged the goal for goaltender interference, but it didn’t go the Kings’ way. The call on the ice stood, it was a good goal.

The failed challenge cost the Kings a delay-of-game penalty, and it didn’t take long for the Oilers to capitalize, and it took just 10 seconds into the power play, when Evan Bouchard hammered home his second of the night, giving Edmonton the go-ahead goal in what ended up being a 7–4 win. That sequence proved to be a turning point in the series, as the Oilers rallied to take down the Kings in six games and went on to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row, which was all sparked by Kane’s gritty effort in front of the net to tie things up late in Game 3.

Kane Had an Incredible Playoff Run in 2022

Above all else, Kane’s legacy with the Oilers will be defined by his impressive performance during the 2022 playoff run.

He scored 13 goals in 15 games, tying for first place with Nathan MacKinnon. Additionally, Kane scored seven goals in seven games against L.A. in the opening round, then added five goals in five games against Calgary, including a natural hat trick in Game 2 of the Battle of Alberta series. As well, his 11 even-strength goals led the league that postseason.

Moreover, the power forward recorded five multi-goal games during the 2022 playoff run, matching the record set by Jari Kurri in 1985. Beyond his scoring, he was a physical force, throwing 73 hits in 15 games, which was fourth-most in the league, and led the playoffs in penalty minutes with 37. He was also a master of gamesmanship, crashing the net, jawing at opponents after the whistle and engaging in memorable, heated battles with players like Matthew Tkachuk and Nazem Kadri.

Kane is that rare unicorn in the NHL — a big body who can score goals, chirp just enough to hurt your feelings and knock you off your skates with a big hit. His 2022 playoff performance was him playing that role at the highest level, with everything firing at full steam, which ultimately led the Oilers to re-sign him to a four-year contract the following offseason.

Overall, Kane played in 68 playoff games for Edmonton, scoring 26 goals, which puts him 11th on the Oilers’ all-time playoff goal-scoring list and securing his status as a key playoff performer during his tenure in Oil Country.