With Connor Brown struggling and being a healthy scratch, I looked into another top six forward whose on-ice numbers at 5v5 have been just as poor. My latest post up at Oilersnation looks at Evander Kane’s season, his on-ice numbers and how they’ve been similar to Brown’s.

Like Brown, Kane has also had plenty of time in the top six, playing the third-highest number of minutes and getting to play alongside McDavid or Draisaitl (or both) for 66 percent of his total ice time. And while he has put up 13 even-strength points in 29 games this season, Kane also has an on-ice goal differential of -8 (15 goals for, 23 goals against) – which translates to an on-ice goal-share of only 39.47 percent. That’s one of the lowest on the team, and one of the worst among top six forwards league-wide.

When it comes to the underlying shot-share or performance numbers, the Oilers do a much better job controlling the flow of play and out-chancing opponents when Kane hasn’t been on the ice this season. Again, very similar to Brown, the Oilers see a drop of 6.04 Corsi For percentage points and 9.71 Expected Goals For percentage points with Kane deployed. Like Brown, removing Kane from the roster might improve their odds of outscoring opponents and winning games. And that’s a major issue considering the expectations for him and the Oilers this season.

Sunil Agnihotri/Oilersnation

Full article is at Oilersnation.