'So far, so good': Red-hot Oilers happy with Kane, and he's happy to be in Edmonton

Oilers forward Evander Kane takes questions on Feb. 8, 2022. (Source: Edmonton Oilers)

Evander Kane silenced both of his cell phones as he sat down to talk about how much he's enjoying playing hockey for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday morning.

After several heavy interviews about his off-ice controversies – gambling and bankruptcy, COVID-19 investigations, a heated divorce, and having his contract terminated by his last team – Kane looked happy to be talking about hockey, his new city and pizza.

"It's beautiful here. It's nice and warm," he said with a smile.

"I feel fantastic about my decision. I think this group has incredible potential."

Kane has three points in three games and the Oilers have not lost in regulation yet with him in the lineup. He'll play his first home game with the club Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

"Guys have been great, fans have been awesome. I've enjoyed my very short time here thus far, but I'm looking forward to this homestand, seeing what the atmosphere is going to be like tonight. So far, so good," he said.

It didn't take long for Kane to help. Despite not playing an NHL game all year, he scored in his first period in a blue and orange jersey. He added a second tip-in goal and an assist in his third game against Washington.

Kane said he has no problem scoring ugly goals, he's been working on that in practice.

"You gotta find different ways to score. If you look at guys that score consistently, even Ovechkin, he has a lot of garbage goals in front of the net. You score six or seven goals a year off tips, it adds up pretty quickly," he said.

'HE'S BEEN REALLY GOOD AROUND THE LOCKER ROOM'

After an awful stretch of losing 13 of 15 games in December and January, the Oilers suddenly have points (four wins and one overtime loss) in all of their last five games.

The team will try to keep the good times rolling Tuesday night at home against the first-place Vegas Golden Knights.

The Oilers' leading scorer, Leon Draisaitl, said the team's win over the Calgary Flames on Jan. 22 was a turning point, but Kane has helped too.

"Sometimes you just need to find a way to get one win to kinda get going again. We obviously found a way to beat Calgary and then kinda just kept it going, confidence comes back," Draisaitl said.

"So far, I think (Kane has) been really good. He's obviously really physical, you can tell. He likes to play that tough kind of style, that playoff style, so that really helps us."

Head coach Dave Tippett also said he was happy with Kane and eager to see more of him.

Despite scoring at least 20 goals in seven seasons, the San Jose Sharks cut Kane without getting anything in return. The talented forward also cleared NHL waivers in January, meaning no team wanted to take him and his $7 million a year contract.

"He's continued to get better. So far it's been real positive," Tippett said Tuesday.

"He's been really good around the locker room. He's probably the one guy who you wish we didn't have an (all-star) break there, just to try to continue to get him going."

In one of the lighter interview exchanges Kane has had lately, he was asked about eating pizza before playing professional sports.

In 2019, Kane tweeted a picture of his pre-game meal that included a personalized message from an Edmonton Panago.

Go to pick up my pizza in Edmonton and @Panago_Pizza staff leave a message. #hockeydayincanada pic.twitter.com/0Y2T3oI75H

— Evander Kane (@evanderkane_9) February 9, 2019

"I'd say seven or eight times out of 10, I'm having pizza before the game. It's just something I've always ate growing up as a kid," Kane said.

"I think I'm in pretty good shape, so it's more just a preference," he added, with a smile.

The Oilers were eight points behind the Golden Knights, although Vegas had played four more games.