Evander Kane hasn’t played for the Edmonton Oilers in 10 months, but he’s getting close.

The team could use as many healthy players as it can for its first-round matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. Mattias Ekholm will miss the series, while center Trent Frederic is questionable for Game 1. Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman didn’t play Monday for precautionary reasons, while Leon Draisaitl is expected to be ready for Game 1.

Kane’s return date isn’t as clear, but he looks good since his abdominal surgery in September, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said Monday.

“If you ask me if I’m ready for Game 1, I think I could barley skate (when) I played in the playoffs last year,” Kane told reporters on Monday. “So, if you’re comparing how I felt now compared to last year, I’m ready to go.” 

The left winger said he wants to make sure when he plays, he doesn’t want to “end back up on an operating table again.”

“Right from the get go, I put in a lot of work to not have to have any setbacks for this entire process,” Kane said. “You see it around the league and obviously with our team, and the way some of the injuries have gone, it can be tough.”

The big questions are what his impact will be in the Oilers’ lineup during what should be a feisty matchup with the Kings and whether Knoblauch will rely on him to play more minutes.

He hasn’t had as long a recovery process as Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, who hasn’t played since June 2022, but Kane has new teammates to overtake in the lineup as well. It’s uncertain whether he’ll be like the player who recorded eight points in 20 playoff games last year or the one who had 13 goals and 17 points in 15 post-season games in 2021-22.

Avry Lewis-McDougall has more in his video column from the Oilers’ practice facility.

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