The National Hockey League handed out its most recent fine on Sunday, April 7, which also coincided to be the maximum possible fine they can give to a player under the rulebook.
The NHL gave Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane a maximum fine of $5,000 for slashing Calgary Flames forward Dryden Hunt in the game played on Saturday, April 6, in Calgary. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced the decision on the afternoon of April 7.
The incident happened at 3:46 of the second period of the game between the Flames and the Oilers. Kane was assessed a minor penalty for slashing Hunt back then.
It is Kane’s second fine this season. Kane was fined $2,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct against Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger during a game played in Columbus on Thursday, March 7. That incident happened at 0:46 of the second period.
Oilers Beat Flames, Things Get Heated Between Kane and Corey Perry
The Oilers dealt the Flames a loss on Saturday, April 6. Edmonton beat Calgary 4-2 in the game in which Kane committed his offense, although that action was not the one drawing the ire of teammate Corey Perry on the ice.
In the second period of Saturday’s matchup, veteran Oilers forward Perry was caught by the SportsNet cameras clearly upset on the bench and yelling at Kane.
The reason for Perry’s blasting of Kane could have emerged from an offensive action by Kane earlier in the game.
Former NHL player and current Hockey Night in Canada analyst Kevin Bieksa broke down the play (h/t @zjlaing for the clip) that he speculated could have led to the exchange between Kane and Perry on the bench.
“You can tell this is a team (Edmonton) thinking about the playoffs,” Bieksa said on April 6 during the game’s broadcast while analyzing a replay. “And this is Kane (making) kind of a hole-pass, (but there’s) nobody there.”
Bieksa then “speculated” that Perry might have told Kane how he should have played the puck in that situation.
“Hey, keep this puck down low,” Bieksa said. “There’s nobody there, like, you don’t need to throw it away and give the puck to the Calgary Flames going the other way.”
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl Keep Edmonton Going
Although Perry and Kane had their fair share of issues, the Oilers (47-24-5, 99 points) did enough to beat the Flames 4-2 on Saturday moving just three points behind Pacific Division leader Vancouver (47-22-8, 102 points).
McDavid and Draisaitl, the 1A and 1B players in Edmonton, both tallied points with the former getting two assists on the day and the latter scoring the opening goal just 16 seconds after the puck drop.
McDavid has 99 assists on the season. If (more likely, once) he gets another one before the regular season is over, he will become the first player to reach 100 assists since Wayne Gretzky did it in 1991 when he put up 122 playing for the Los Angeles Kings.
The Oilers superstar had an extraordinary chance of getting to the 100-assist mark midway through the second period but, as it’s been the case at some points this season, he failed to get an assist on a two-on-zero rush that he and teammate Zach Hyman wasted by being too unselfish.
As for Draisaitl, he scored his 40th goal of the season and reached 100 points on the year, becoming just one of 12 players to have five or more single seasons in their resume reaching such heights, according to data records on StatHead.
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