Kane relishing playoff opportunity with Sharks

SAN JOSE -- Evander Kane has long believed his fast, physical game was well suited for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
After waiting nine seasons and playing 574 regular-season games, Kane will finally get a chance to prove it Thursday when the San Jose Sharks face the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of their Western Conference First Round series at Honda Center (10:30 p.m. ET; USA, TVAS, SN360, PRIME).

"I've said it in the past," Kane said. "I think I'm a playoff player. I've watched the playoffs and when I look at the style of play, it's something I was jealous of because I wasn't involved in it. Now I get that opportunity and I have to back those words up."
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Kane spent his first eight full seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets and Buffalo Sabres and missed the playoffs each year. San Jose acquired him at the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 26 from Buffalo for forward Daniel O'Regan and conditional first- and fourth-round picks in the 2019 NHL Draft.
The Sharks went 11-5-1 with Kane in the lineup. He had nine goals and five assists on the first line with center Joe Pavelski and wing Joonas Donskoi, and helped the Sharks win a season-high eight straight games from March 12-26.

"He's brought speed, which backs teams off," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "He's brought a physical presence, which keeps people honest. For me, the biggest thing is he's probably added a goal a night for us. When Patty Marleau left and we asked guys to take a step, you're not scoring as much as you normally would, and there were a lot of 2-1 games and we found a way to battle things out.
"Eventually [Joe Thornton] going down, it started to catch up with us. That extra goal a game that he's added to our lineup, whether it's him scoring or creating a goal, that's a difference in this league."
Kane could have an even bigger impact for San Jose in the playoffs.
"It's a fast, hard-nosed game," Kane said. "The intensity ramps up and the style of play, it's hard to score. There are a lot of 2-1, 3-2 games, and you have to find ways to score. I've always prided myself on being able to score in different ways, and I think the physical element as well. That's a big part of the playoffs. "Guys who have 20 hits all year, the next thing you know they have 20 hits in two games. It's definitely a different animal, and I'm looking forward to experiencing it."
Almost all of Kane's new teammates have playoff experience. Now he will get to experience what it's like.

"You can feel the excitement when you're around him," Sharks center Logan Couture said. "He puts off that kind of energy that he's happy to be at the rink and happy to be playing this type of year."
One of Kane's biggest challenges Thursday could be to keep from getting too excited.
"I think I've been around the League long enough and played enough hockey where I won't blow it all in the first period or the first shift," Kane said, smiling. "But I think obviously there will be some excitement like everyone in the room will have for Game 1."