The pass from Wellwood hits Kane’s stick right on the tape.
Evander Kane’s skates slice over the blue line. He looks up. He’s surrounded. Two Islanders defenders in front of him, including Manitoba product Travis Hamonic. Two more forwards coming up on his six, homing in for the backcheck. They’re pros. They know he’s dangerous when the ice is open, so they’re closing off the ice. Four on one. Simple, right?
Maybe not.
Kane dekes left, pulling Hamonic towards the boards. Taps the puck underneath Hamonic’s stick and leaps to his right, bringing his stick down just in time to catch the puck on the other side. (Yes, Virginia, Evander Kane just broke open a four-on-one with a crisp pass to himself.) That makes three Isles behind him, one in front, plus the goalie.
The guy in front of him is Andrew MacDonald, a rock-solid defender out of Nova Scotia by way of the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats. He’s quiet, you don’t notice him, but that’s just the way MacDonald plays. He takes care of business in his zone. And that’s why he spent a good chunk of the 2010-’11 season clocking more than twenty minutes a game.
It doesn’t show.
MacDonald assays the world’s laziest poke check. Kane ignores it. Wires a wrist shot. It hits MacDonald’s right shin, bounces back. The forwards have closed in behind him, and now everyone’s invited to the party in the Islanders crease. Kane tries again. MacDonald clicks his ankles together like Dorothy trying to get back to Kansas. The puck skitters in between his skates, drifts right. Kane tries again, gets a tiny piece of it. It’s headed past the goalie, but it’s gonna go wide. Good thing Kane’s got a backhand. The puck sails in, and it’s 1-0 Jets.
It’s a textbook example of why Evander Kane is a rising star. So, why am I talking about it?
Well, there appears to be a debate about whether hockey fights have any value. Whether fighting should be banned from the game of hockey.
I hear people talk about pride, about standing up for your guys, about “teaching them a lesson”. I can’t help but think that the best way to “teach them a lesson” is to win the game. After all, you don’t forget a loss you earned.
I hear people talk about bringing some energy, creating a spark, getting the fans into it. You know what else gets the fans into it? Goals. Goals like the one Evander Kane scored.
Bruises don’t go into the history books. Wins and losses do. I say we end hockey fights.
