It was not until his ninth NHL season that Evander Kane got his first hat-trick. Since then, he has been making up for lost time.
The Edmonton left wing on Friday picked up his second hat-trick of the season and the eighth of his career as the Oilers got back to winning ways by rallying for a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
“I was hoping I would get one at one point,” said Kane, who has 18 goals this season. “It’s nice coming out of the break, getting on the board early and getting ready for the second half of the season.”
Photo: AFP
Kane is in his 15th season. He has tied for the fourth-most hat-tricks in the league since getting his first one on March 16, 2018, with the San Jose Sharks.
He has five in the regular season in his three years with the Oilers.
Kane had a pair of second-period goals and finished off the hat-trick with an empty-netter at 18 minutes, 50 seconds of the third period. It was the first time in 36 career games against the Ducks that Kane scored more than one goal.
Photo: AP
Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostal came in for the final period after John Gibson sustained a lower-body injury.
Leon Draisaitl scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period as the Oilers scored three times in the final 12 minutes to overcome a 3-2 deficit.
Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch put Draisaitl and Corey Perry on the same line.
Photo: AP
“I think what we expected was how well they would be in the offensive zone,” Knoblauch said. “Controlling pucks, not being able to be knocked off, finding each other in the slot, and just being able to possess the puck down there and make some plays.”
Zach Hyman scored his team-leading 31st goal in the third period to tie it at 3-3. Connor McDavid had three assists to extend his point streak to five games.
Calvin Pickard stopped 24 shots and won his fifth straight start in net.
Edmonton, who had a 16-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday in Las Vegas, have not lost consecutive games since mid-December last year.
Anaheim’s Ryan Strome had the 13th two-goal game of his 11-year career and his first since April 19, 2022, when he was with the New York Rangers.
“Nice to get on the score sheet, but a frustrating game. I think that we deserved a little bit better of a fate. I thought we worked really hard. I thought we did a lot of good things,” Strome said. “They’re finding ways to win and if you give that team a power play in the third period, it’s more often than not going to be a goal.”
Cam Fowler had a goal and an assist, while Adam Henrique and Frank Vatrano both had two assists for the Ducks. Henrique extended his point streak to seven games.
Dostal made eight saves. Gibson allowed two goals and made 19 saves.
Strome gave the Ducks a 3-2 advantage at 3:20 of the third period on the power play with a shot from the left circle for his eighth.
Hyman, tied for sixth in the NHL in goals, redirected McDavid’s shot past Dostal at 8:41 to even it at 3-3.
Draisaitl put the Oilers ahead on the power play on a one-timer from McDavid at 10:09.
It was his 24th of the season and 13th in the past 11 games versus the Ducks.
In St Paul, Minnesota, Kirill Kaprizov scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and Minnesota held on for a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh.
Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Jonas Brodin each finished with a goal and an assist for the Wild, who won their second straight game since the NHL All-Star break.
Reilly Smith and Sidney Crosby each scored for Pittsburgh.
The Wild celebrated “Marc-Andre Fleury Night” with a ceremony and video tributes, and Fleury delivered on his namesake night. The veteran goaltender stopped 34 of 36 shots against his former team to earn his 553rd career win.
In Chicago, Mika Zibanejad scored at 2:37 of overtime, while Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist to boost streaking New York to a 4-3 win against Chicago.
New York overcame a shaky start and finish in goaltender Igor Shesterkin’s return to the lineup, winning for the fourth straight time, while earning points for the sixth time in the past seven games.
Zibanejad tallied his eighth career overtime winner, beating Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek with a wrist-shot from the right circle.
Chicago picked up a point, but lost for a season-worst sixth straight time this season.
The Blackhawks tallied more than two goals for the first time since Jan. 19.
Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson scored in the final 6:23 of regulation to tie the game.
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