BLOG: Kane earns early karma with unselfish empty-net assist

EDMONTON, AB - After lifting the stick of Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes and stealing the puck in the neutral zone late in Wednesday's season-opening victory, Oilers forward Evander Kane was left with a golden opportunity to get his goalscoring for the new season started early by placing the puck into the empty net.
But he didn't.
Instead, the winger had the presence of mind and the sacrifice to know that Connor McDavid, who was sitting on two goals for the evening, was with him on the rush.
Kane could've taken the shot on his backhand with Hughes behind him in pursuit, a play he's more than capable of completing, but he kept his head up and dropped it back to his surprised captain who quickly put into the open cage for his 11th career hat trick.

Players with a penchant for goalscoring always want to get off to a fast start, especially one who's trying to carry his 37-goal output in 58 regular-season and post-season games last campaign into a new year, but sometimes establishing some good karma early can go a long way over the course of another long campaign.
"Everybody wants to get goals early in the season, not just goalscorers," forward Derek Ryan said. "So I think that speaks a lot to him. He obviously was aware of who was with him there and the situation, and I think it speaks to his awareness and willingness to give up something like that for a teammate. Getting that first goal on an empty net sometimes would be pretty nice, so it's a big sacrifice for him."
It may have been a simple gesture from Kane, but Head Coach Jay Woodcroft underlined in his Thursday morning media availability just how encouraging those types of unselfish plays can be for a whole dressing room.

"I heard Connor's interview after and he used the word unselfish," Woodcroft said. "I think Kaner was on the ice in the last minute and a half there for a reason. That group went out and did its job. Darnell made a great play off the faceoff. I thought he had a lot of poise, and then Kaner recognized that Connor was available and he found him. He was a great teammate.
"I think that's a positive sign. I'm glad you guys (the media) picked up on that. That's one of the things sometimes coaches just pick up on and show in video and stuff like that. But I thought it was positive. Obviously, an unselfish act."
We're only one game into an 82-game season, over the course of which Kane is sure to benefit from a few (or dozens) of McDavid's feeds and leave his mark during the first year of a three-year deal after bursting into Oil Country as a mid-season signing in late January.
Hopefully, the act is reciprocated.
"The type of player is, probably not," Kane joked. "I'm sure he will."