Aho's hit brings back bad memories for Kane
Patrick Kane wouldn't say he was surprised a penalty wasn't called when Sebastian Aho shoved him into the boards late in Carolina's victory over the Blackhawks on Tuesday.
But the area of the ice where it occurred - along the sideboards near the visiting bench - is exactly where Kane broke his collarbone in February 2015, so he's understandably sensitive to that kind of play.
"I just don't like that play where you're going in, your back's turned, you get the cross-check in the back when you're unsuspecting and the puck's not there," Kane said after the Hawks practiced Wednesday. "So I think that's where the frustration came from."
Aho hit Kane with 51 seconds remaining and Carolina clinging to a 3-2 lead. After hitting the boards, Kane immediately jumped to his feet to try to retrieve the puck.
If he stays down, a penalty may have been called, but the Hawks will obviously never know.
"To be honest with you, when I got hit like that I was just trying to keep the play alive because I thought they would for sure call it," Kane said. "But there's plays throughout the game that don't get called and that's just the way it is. That one's probably more magnified because of the situation and how much time was left."
Aho ended up scoring into an empty net with 17.6 seconds remaining to cement Carolina's 4-2 victory. Kane was then given a 10-minute misconduct penalty for cross-checking Aho as the forward went to his bench to celebrate.
Gustafsson's gaffe:
Erik Gustafsson said his aggressive decision to try to beat Carolina's Nino Niederreiter to the puck at the Hawks' defensive blue line midway through the second period Tuesday was a "terrible, terrible rookie mistake."
Niederreiter gained control after the puck bounced off the side boards, and the Hurricanes forward then raced in on Robin Lehner and fired home his third goal of the season to make it 3-0.
"Right when I went for it, I was like, 'Oh. This is not good,' " Gustafsson said. "The whole sequence was just off there. … I've got to be 100 percent sure I can take that puck if I go up there.
"I can't do that if I want to help this team win."
Dach's point streak:
Kirby Dach extended his point streak to five games when he assisted on Erik Gustafsson's third-period goal Tuesday against Carolina. Dach joins Bobby Hull (8) and Eddie Olczyk (5 and 6) as the only 18-year-olds in Blackhawks history to record a point streak of five-plus games.
Asked what has pleased him the most about Dach's progression, coach Jeremy Colliton said: "I'm pleasantly surprised with how many pucks he comes up with in 50/50 situations. Obviously he's not got his fully developed body yet. But he still manages to be really heavy on his stick and come out of those situations under control. …
"It probably happened a little quicker than I expected. He missed training camp and it's difficult to just hop right in, but overall he's really made a good adjustment."
Slap shots:
Andrew Shaw (hip) did not practice Wednesday, but coach Jeremy Colliton believes the forward will be able to play against Tampa Bay on Thursday. … After failing to score on his first 23 shots on goal, Erik Gustafsson has connected on 3 of his last 6 attempts.