Kane's magical streak up there with the greats
It was mid-August 1978.
My first Cubs game at Wrigley Field. I'll never forget what happened when the first player in the Reds' lineup was announced that day.
"Batting first for Cincinnati - Pete Rose."
I booed as loud as my 7-year-old lungs would allow, but then noticed something strange. Everybody else was cheering.
The opposing player. The enemy.
I tugged on my dad's sleeve and said, "Dad, why is everybody cheering for this guy?"
He proceeded to tell me that "this guy" had just put together a 44-game hitting streak that ended just a couple of weeks before our visit to Wrigley. So it was the fans showing appreciation for an accomplishment that only one player in the modern era had surpassed.
And here we are 37 years later and no one has been able to equal Rose's feat.
It's pretty unlikely that Patrick Kane will receive the same adoration from fans in the Chicago Blackhawks' road games the rest of the season (although he might during Saturday's game in his hometown of Buffalo).
But what Kane just accomplished - putting together a 26-game points streak that has only been surpassed 10 times in NHL history - should certainly be appreciated.
While not impossible, we are unlikely to see Kane's run surpassed for quite some time.
"I've been around some different situations but never been around a streak like that," coach Joel Quenneville said after the streak ended Tuesday at the United Center in a 3-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. "It was fun."
As I wrote Tuesday night, if you were lucky enough to be in the stands for Game 22 - when Kane broke Bobby Hull's team record Dec. 6 - or for any of the games after that, consider yourself lucky.
You witnessed history. You witnessed part of a run that no NHL player has gone on in 23 years.
"The fact that he was able to sustain it for this length of time was amazing," Quenneville said. "Pretty spectacular in today's game to be on the board 26 (straight) games."
Kane's consistent play - he leads the NHL with 46 points - is perhaps the biggest reason the Hawks are 17-11-4 and tied for third in the Central Division.
Where would they be without him?
Niklas Hjalmarsson shuddered at the thought last week.
"He's just been unbelievable so far this season," Hjalmarsson said. "He's been the biggest reason why we're in the middle of the pack at least. If he wasn't playing the way (he is), we probably would have been outside of a playoff spot right now.
"He's been kind of carrying the whole team on (his back)."
No doubt about that. So with the streak in the rearview mirror, expect Kane to relax and continue his MVP-caliber campaign.
"It was a good run," he said. "When you have to talk about it every day it gets a little taxing, but I'm excited just to play hockey now."
Scouting report
Blackhawks (17-11-4) vs. Edmonton Oilers (14-16-2) at United Center, 7:30 p.m.
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WGN 720-AM
The skinny: The Oilers lost to the Rangers on Tuesday but had won their previous six games and are right in the mix for a playoff berth in the Pacific Division. … Edmonton has been without rookie phenom Connor McDavid since he fractured his collarbone Nov. 3. McDavid wasn't expected to return until March, but there are reports he's ahead of schedule and could be back as soon as mid-January. … The Hawks won both meetings with the Oilers this season with Artemi Panarin (3G, 2A) and Patrick Kane (G, 6A) leading the way. … Taylor Hall, already in his sixth NHL season at age 24, leads Edmonton in scoring (15-20-35).
Next: Buffalo at First Niagara Center, noon, Saturday
- John Dietz