Kane's career night helps Hawks blast Ducks
When Patrick Kane saw Arizona's Nick Schmaltz had racked up a whopping 7 points in an 8-5 victory on Saturday, the Hawks' superstar picked up the phone and texted his buddy and former teammate: "Be nice to have a night like that."
Little did Kane know a night like that would come just three days later during a video-game-like 8-3 victory over Anaheim at the United Center.
Not only did Kane set a career high with 6 points, but he also became the fourth player in franchise history to record at least 4 points in an opening period. He joins Grant Mulvey (who had 5 on Feb. 3, 1982), Pit Martin and Dick Redmond.
Oh, and Kane also surpassed 60 points for the 14th time, passing Mike Modano for most 60-point campaigns by an American-born skater.
Just another truly special game by a truly special player.
"Fun night," said Kane, who bettered his 5-point efforts against Washington in 2019 and Ottawa in 2018. "Sometimes it's good to see those games, have a couple breaks. ... Nice to score some goals here at home and get the crowd into it, get out early and feel good about ourselves."
The offensive onslaught was spearheaded by Kane, but linemates Dylan Strome (second hat trick in six weeks) and Alex DeBrincat (goal, 3 assists) also exploded. Strome made it 1-0 just 98 seconds into the game (courtesy of a gorgeous pass from Kane), gave the Hawks a 7-3 lead at 14:50 of the second period and closed out the scoring with 2:44 remaining.
"It's kind of like an unwritten rule," Strome said when asked if he was thinking about scoring for a third time. "No one talks about it, but everyone's thinking about it. Sometimes the puck just finds you."
The Hawks blitzed the dumbfounded Ducks early and often in the first period, building a 5-0 lead on goals by Strome, DeBrincat, Kane, Ryan Carpenter and Jonathan Toews.
Kane assisted on the first 3 goals. It was the first time the Hawks put up a 5-spot in the first period since an 8-7 win against Ottawa on Feb. 18, 2019.
"We wanted to close hard and fast on their forwards, especially (Kane), because the more time you give him, the more he will ding you," said Ducks coach Dallas Eakins. "For whatever reason, we chose not to manage the puck, and we chose to give (Kane) lots of room. That led to a disastrous first period."
And continued with a disastrous start to the second, with Brandon Hagel making it 6-0 at 0:19.
Anaheim then made it somewhat interesting by scoring 3 unanswered goals in 3½ minutes, but Strome's second goal made it 7-3.
"He's been fun to play with," said Kane, who has 12 goals in the last 22 games. "One thing that's really noticeable lately is his ability to drive the net and create even more space for himself or his linemates. He's finding ways to get open too, and he's been finishing. ...
"He's been great. It's good to have him here. Hopefully it stays that way."
That's no guarantee with the trade deadline less than two weeks away. Playoff-bound teams might try to pry players like Strome, Dominik Kubalik, Calvin de Haan and/or Marc-Andre Fleury from the Hawks.
Strome, not surprisingly, would like to hang around.
"I've said it a bunch of times - I love playing in Chicago," he said. "It's not really up to me to decide. ... It's fun to play here, it's fun to be on a line with those two guys. It's fun to be on a line with a lot of guys on our team.
"Whatever happens, happens. It's part of hockey, it's part of life."
Ten Hawks recorded at least 1 point against Anaheim. Kane, DeBrincat, Strome, Jake McCabe (2 assists) and Hagel (goal, assist) all had multiple points.
The Hawks now play at Boston on Thursday and Ottawa on Saturday.
By the numbers
Patrick Kane became the fourth player in Blackhawks history to record 4 points in the first period:
Player, date G A Pts.
Grant Mulvey, 2/3/82 4 1 5
Pit Martin, 1/30/69 1 3 4
Dick Redmond, 12/5/73 1 3 4
Patrick Kane, 3/8/2022 1 3 4
<b>Career highs</b>Patrick Kane highest point games:
Date, opponent G A Pts.
3/8/2022, Anaheim 1 5 6
1/9/2018, Ottawa 1 4 5
1/20/2019, Washington 2 3 5