Kane injured in practice

News out of Jets practice this morning that Evander Kane had to be helped to the dressing room after injuring his right leg. Brian Munz and Ted Wyman had your tweets about it this morning. Please hockey gods! Take Blake Wheeler instead!

Evander Kane is one of the few Jets driving play by eye and by math. His 34 shots in 7 games is tied for 3rd in the NHL, and his individual 5 on 5 corsi number is also 3rd. The guy is getting a ton of rubber on net. He’s the Jets’ even strength and total ice-time leader among forwards for the second year in a row, and he’s playing all three disciplines. That Kane is +2 and a positive impact player is remakable given the struggles of Scheifele and Setoguchi, his most common linemates this year. 

The terrifying question, of course, is how much the team will miss him. Let’s take a look at his WoWY (With or Without You) numbers.

The stats are simple enough – the percentage of goals for versus against when the player(s) is/are on the ice, and the shot attempts for versus against in the same cirucmstance. Of course, so early in the season, the goal % is a bit wonky. But I left it in so you could see (and dismiss) it for yourself. (For example, the difference between Little and Kane at 100% and Wheeler and Kane at 0% is just one goal.)

The table includes his most common linemates, and the pattern is very clear, with only Setoguchi playing outlier. Everyone’s corsi % goes up when they’re with Kane. Kane himself scored more with the second line (owing to those first two games where the Oilers and Kings clearly had a fan promo on to play a game as netminder) but is giving up fewer shots against with the top line, suggesting more sustainable offensive success. You can see the full chart here.

Setoguchi had a strong game for corsi % last night, and despite not being on the ice for a single goal for without Kane, seems to be fairing better away from Scheifele. Scheifele, meanwhile, desperately needs some talented linemates to help him with the heavy lifting. He’s on for 25 corsi attempts per 20 minutes when he’s not with Kane. You don’t need much context to know that’s bad, but it’s a team-worst with Kane off the ice. 

Wheeler without Kane is at a stunning 34% corsi. It’s an unsustainable low given that he’s not an ECHL player, but an injury to Kane now could mean devastating things for his season. Hockey isn’t just pure confidence and momentum and effort, but those things do matter to any person in any workplace. Wheeler needs some help getting back on track, and Kane is his best bet. 

In a season where the problems are complex, this much is simple: Evander Kane is the best forward the Jets have and they need him in the lineup. Knock on wood it was minor.