Evander Kane didn’t play on Monday due to a lower-body injury, but he was able to participate in Wednesday’s practice. The stage seemed to be set for him to play against the Chicago Blackhawks last night, but he didn’t.
Why he was held out of the contest is apparently a matter of debate. Kane feels he was a healthy scratch, but Winnipeg Jets coach Claude Noel disagrees.
“Players for the most part always believe they can play and you have to do the things that are intelligent,” Noel told the Winnipeg Free Press. “There’s been no change.”
The 22-year-old forward is in the second season of his six-year, $31.5 million deal. He hasn’t been living up to expectations in 2013-14 with six goals and nine points in 15 games and he had a minus-two rating in Winnipeg’s 5-1 loss to Chicago on Saturday.
The Jets suffered another big loss against the Blackhawks without him -- this time by a score of 4-1. Winnipeg ranks last in the Central Division with a 6-9-2 record.