Despite loss, Kane impresses coach

The Atlanta Thrashers lost Thursday night, but it was still a memorable night for Evander Kane.
The Vancouver native played his first NHL game in his hometown before numerous friends and family members as Atlanta lost 4-2 to the Canucks.
“It was a great experience and something I’ll never forget,” said Kane, 18.
In the second period, the former Vancouver Giants star was denied a goal on a second-period video review. Had it counted, the Thrashers would have had a much better chance of coming back in a middle frame in which they were badly outplayed.
I just wanted to take the puck to the net and it seemed like (Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo) rolled over right away into the net,” said Kane. “So I thought it was kind of in. The referees thought the whistle went before . . . I think the whole bench thought it was (a goal).”
In the scoreless third, Kane had a chance to bring the Thrashers within a goal, but he missed an open net.
Late in the game, he also managed to anger Vancouver's Ryan Kesler for what the Canucks centre perceived as a deliberate knee-on-knee check. Kane, who helped the Giants win a Memorial Cup, recorded three shots. Only three other Atlanta players matched that total.
"I thought (Kane) was one of our best players tonight," said Anderson. "He took the puck wide and chipped in, and he took some hits . . . I thought he did a great job, and I'm sure his family's very proud of him."
The coach showed his confidence in Kane by using him in all situations. He received some brief power play time while also toiling in his usual penalty killing and feven-strength roles.
"Nobody else is scoring (on the power play) for us," said Anderson. "He's got eight goals, and we wanted to give him a stab at it."
Anderson, whose team has lost four of its past five games, said he will see how things go and, possibly, give Kane, the fourth overall pick in last summer's NHL draft, more time in man-advantage situations.
For guidance on that decision, he'll defer to more people than just Atlanta general manager Don Waddell.
"My wife goes, 'I love that Evander Kane,' " said Anderson. "He's such a great player, and he's a good kid.' So if my wife likes him, he's gotta be a good player."
The former Toronto Maple Leaf said Kane, who helped Canada win a world junior title around this time last year, reminds him of one of his former teammates.
"He seems like a Ron Ellis, pretty straight up and down, not too much in the middle," said Anderson.