Rookie scoring lead not Kane's focus

For Patrick Kane, the race that mattered most down the stretch wasn't the one with Washington's Nicklas Backstrom for the rookie scoring lead.

It was trying to secure a playoff spot.

With a goal and 2 assists in Wednesday's 6-2 win over Detroit, Kane moved 2 points ahead of Backstrom. The Capitals hosted Tampa Bay on Thursday.

"It's nice to get the lead, but it comes with the bonus of a win," Kane said Thursday. "You don't really think about it when you're out there playing. You just want to help the team. If that means scoring a couple points to put it in my favor, that's good for me."

With 19 goals and 50 assists, Kane needs 1 more point to be the first Hawks rookie since Steve Larmer in 1982-83 to reach 70 points.

The Hawks haven't had a 70-point scorer since Eric Daze in 2001-02.

Key contributor: Rookie defenseman Jordan Hendry has been one of the Hawks' unsung heroes this season. Hendry finally got a little attention for his first NHL goal in the win over Detroit.

"He's come a long way," Hawks coach Denis Savard said. "I didn't know much about him, but we brought him up and he's done a heck of a job for us. He's played against big lines too at times where he's done the job for us. He's earned a job this year and played some good minutes for us."

Pack the place: The crowd of 21,365 against Detroit gave the Hawks their 11th sellout of the season.

"Having 21,000 people in the building is awesome," Patrick Kane said. "It's fun to play for them. It's like having six or seven guys on the ice."

"Our fans have been great all year," Patrick Sharp said. "They've been a big part of our success."

About time: With 2 more power-play goals against the Red Wings, the Hawks are 9-for-42 in the last nine games with three games of 2 or more.

"We're shooting pucks more," Denis Savard said. "There are some set plays we work on in practice, but we have to establish shots and get pucks at the net more.

"It's kind of nice that we get to see Detroit's power play a lot because they shoot pucks. They retrieve it, get back on top and shoot again. Everything opens up after that."

Tip-ins: The Hawks didn't skate Thursday. They had an off-ice workout followed by a brief team meeting. … Yanic Perreault likely will be in the lineup again tonight against Nashville in place of Rene Bourque since Denis Savard wants use of his best faceoff man.

Tonight's faceoff

Blackhawks vs. Nashville Predators at the United Center, 7:30 p.m.

TV: None

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

The skinny: The Hawks lead the season series with the Predators 4-3, with one of their losses in overtime and a second in a shootout. The Hawks are just 4-for-25 on the power play against the Predators, 0-for-13 in the last four games. The Hawks didn't get a power play in their 2-1 shootout loss on March 22 in Nashville. Nikolai Khabibulin starts his seventh straight game in goal. This is the final home game of the season for the Hawks, who are 22-16-2 at the United Center.

Player to watch: Patrick Sharp. Hawks winger has 6 of his 36 goals in the seven games against Nashville.

Next: Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena, 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

-- Tim Sassone