In second season, Kane already 'a special player'

Apparently, Patrick Kane doesn't believe in the sophomore jinx.

The Blackhawks' second-year winger is playing even better than he did last season, when he led the Hawks in scoring with 72 points and captured the Calder Trophy as NHL's rookie of the year.

Kane, sixth in the league in scoring with 25 points in 19 games going into Tuesday's schedule, is taking on the look an elite player. In fact, he had more points coming out of the weekend than five of hockey's superstars in Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton and Pavel Datsyuk.

Kane's 11 goals are only 10 fewer than he scored all of last season.

"I think probably I am more confident this year," Kane said. "I'm doing more with the puck and scoring more goals. Now I just have to keep it up. Last year I went into some funks, and this year I just have to stay consistent throughout the year. If I go two or three games without scoring, I have to make sure I score in that next game."

The work Kane did all summer trying to improve his shot and his release is paying off in a big way.

"I'm way more confident in my shot than last year," Kane said. "A lot of my goals have been from 10-15 feet right in front of the net when I get myself open.

"Last year, I was more of a setup guy. My mentality last year was pass first instead of taking the shot. I've been a goal scorer my whole life pretty much up until last year. I feel that's one of the best aspects of my game, and I'm just trying to prove it now."

Kane isn't sneaking up on teams this year, but it hasn't mattered. They say you can't check what you can't catch, and Kane has the knack all great offensive players have of either finding the open space or creating it.

"He's a special player," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "He's smooth, he's quick, and I like the fact that he loves to score and enjoys it and wants to score. He can make plays as well as finish it. He's a threat whenever the puck gets close to him that something positive is going to come of it."

With the Hawks approaching the quarter point of the season, Kane is on pace to become the club's first 100-point scorer since 1993-94, when Jeremy Roenick bagged 107.

"I think the second year is a lot of times trickier because they get a lot more attention and the challenge is a little tighter," Quenneville said. "I think there's a lot of focus on him going into games, but I think that has motivated him to get better and improve on a day-to-day basis.

"Hopefully he'll continue to look to want to be the best. I think that's what separates great players and top players from the rest of the guys."

Kane has been downright dominated in some games, helping the Hawks get off to their 10-4-5 start.

"It's tough to tell if there's anything different about Kaner this year," linemate Jonathan Toews said. "Obviously he's playing well and making things happen every night and definitely helping our team right now."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=253812">Hawks stay with hot Khabibulin <span class="date">[10/26/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>