Evander Kane says fight with Ryan Reaves was like ‘fighting the Muffin Man’

Watch as Ryan Reaves and Evander Kane engage in a heavyweight tilt near the end of the Game 3 between the Golden Knights and Sharks.

It’s the series that keeps dishing out the trash talk.

Vegas and San Jose have given us a thoroughly entertaining series, even just so far as the play on the ice. There have been a combined 24 goals scored so far, but there’s been a lot more going on as the series has developed.

Game 3 set the table for what should be a great finish, no matter how long it ends up going.

In the dying minutes of Vegas’ 6-3 win, Ryan Reaves and Evander Kane fought. In watching the fight above, you can see it was a very one-sided affair with, as you’d suspect, Vegas’ professional pugilist coming out on top. According to hockeyfights.com, it was Kane’s 20th career fight (regular and post-season) versus 67 for Reaves.

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But Kane doesn’t appear any worse for the wear. In a move that will surely not lead to any further shenanigans in Game 4 Tuesday night, Kane played down Reaves’ fighting ability.

“For the so-called toughest guy in the league, I don’t know if he landed a punch. At times, I thought I was fighting the Muffin Man. I didn’t expect that, I expected more of a battle,” Kane told reporters Tuesday afternoon.

“I was able to handle him. I think he lost a little bit of his allure in terms of toughness.”

And he didn’t stop there.

“For a guy who plays three and a half to four minutes a night, he sure does a lot of talking. I think he thinks it’s the WWE. He’s probably going to end up there pretty soon with the way his game looks. Another year left in his deal. I’m sure Vince McMahon will be giving him a call pretty soon.”

This is just the latest of the lobs being tossed from one dressing room to the other. In the same game as this fight, Joe Thornton hit Tomas Nosek in the head, which led to a one-game suspension he’ll serve Tuesday. Thornton downplayed the seriousness of it and was also asked about the Kane-Reaves fight, taking the chance to give props, and the decision, to his teammate.

“For a 30-goal scorer, boy he looked good in that fight,” Thornton said. “He looked like Brett Hull fighting Ryan.

“It was just tough to see Ryan go down like that versus a 30-goal scorer, but hopefully he’ll have better luck next time.”

And Reaves, of course, shot back with his own gem, saying:

“I’ve got a buddy with a grandpa who’s going through the same thing,” Reaves deadpanned. “He can’t really see very well because he’s getting old. Get some glasses or something. I don’t know. If he gets suspended, it’s going to be hard for him to see up top [from the press box].”

On that note, Kane leaned even further into Reaves on Tuesday with this rebuttal to Reaves’ remarks on Thornton.

“To chirp Jumbo’s vision, a guy who has over 1,000 assists, that doesn’t seem too bright. One of the best passers and best guys with vision on the ice to ever play the game. Just shows a lot about his hockey knowledge and hockey IQ. Clearly it’s lacking.”

With Vegas up 2-1 in an exciting series on the ice, plus all the great banter surrounding it, Game 4 is turning into must-see TV and Tuesday night at 10:30 p.m. ET, you can watch what happens next on SN360.

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