Kane, Hawks all over Oilers
EDMONTON, Alberta - Sam Gagner knew.
While others might be surprised that second-year Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane is playing even better than he did as the NHL's top rookie last season, Gagner, the Edmonton Oilers' sophomore center and Kane's former teammate in juniors, has seen it all before from his friend.
"He's an unbelievable player," Gagner said Tuesday before the Hawks went out and spanked the Oilers 9-2 at Rexall Place with Kane getting a goal and 2 assists in the rout.
"Obviously, he's surprised a lot of people, but he has a lot of skill. When you watch the highlights now of Chicago games, he continues to amaze me. People try to hit him, but a lot of times he just bounces right off."
Kane and Gagner were linemates with the London Knights during the 2006-07 season when they combined for 97 goals and 263 points. Kane went first in the draft, and the Oilers grabbed Gagner sixth overall.
While Gagner has struggled in his second season, Kane is in the top 10 in the league in scoring with 37 points.
Kane notched his 14th goal in the first period on a power play as the Hawks took a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
The Hawks (16-6-7) were impressive once again, scoring four times on the power play. They've won five in a row and are 6-0-1 in their last seven games.
"They've evolved, and they continue to evolve," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "Kane has come in and really backed up a good rookie year, (Brian) Campbell has helped on defense, and (Nikolai) Khabibulin has played really well.
"They're a dynamic team, and they cover a lot of ice. They're young and they've got a lot of energy and enthusiasm. They're a very dangerous team offensively."
Kane points to the confidence the team gets from goalies Khabibulin and Huet.
"We let a lot of games slip away last year," Kane said. "This year we're getting great goaltending and we've gained a lot of confidence from that."
Khabibulin made 14 saves in a strong first period and was given a 2-0 lead on Colin Fraser's goal at 17:50.
The Hawks got 5 goals in the second period to blow it open - 2 from Troy Brouwer and 1 each by Campbell, Kris Versteeg and Ben Eager. Andrew Ladd scored short-handed early in the third and Craig Adams closed the scoring.
James Wisniewski had 3 assists in his first game following off-season knee surgery.
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