After a scary injury to his left wrist on Tuesday night, Oilers winger Evander Kane was placed on the long-term injured reserve list on Wednesday and is expected to miss three to four months.
The 31-year-old posted a message to his fans on Twitter following the team’s new on Wednesday.
“Thank you all for the kind wishes and prayers from over the past several hours,” Kane wrote. “Obviously last night was an extremely scary moment for me and I’m still in a little bit of shock. I would like to thank the entire training staff of the Edmonton Oilers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with all the doctors and paramedics who rushed to help treat and repair my injury.
“... I won’t be back next game, but I will be back and I look forward to being back on the ice playing the game I love alongside my teammates in front of our great fans,” Kane said.
The injury occurred during the second period of Tuesday night’s game that ended with a 3–2 Oilers’ victory. Kane was knocked down on the ice by Lightning defenseman Philippe Myers, and before Kane could get up, Tampa Bay winger Pat Maroon’s left skate gashed him on the left wrist.
Kane was transported to a local Tampa hospital to undergo surgery. Oilers general manager Ken Holland said on Tuesday night that Kane suffered a deep cut but will be O.K., per Gene Principe of Sportsnet.