Kane turns into Marathon Man in Colliton's first game as coach
If it seemed like Patrick Kane played nearly half of of the game against Carolina at the United Center on Thursday, it's because he almost did.
Kane played a whopping 27 minutes, 43 seconds - the second-highest total of his career, behind only the 28:48 he played in a 3-2 loss at Columbus two years ago.
New coach Jeremy Colliton kept sending Kane out for several reasons. Chief among them:
• The Hawks fell into a 4-0 hole in under 22 minutes.
• Marcus Kruger suffered a leg injury in the second period from which he did not return.
• Kane looked like he could handle it.
"I'm talking to him as the game went on," Colliton said after the Hawks lost 4-3. "Like, 'Hey, if you need a rest, I can slow you down through the rotation or something to give you a little breather.'
"But the timeouts, they kind of came at the right time, and he looked fresh."
One of Kane's shifts lasted an incredible 3:09 - including all two minutes of a power-play opportunity - in the first period.
"He can do special things with the puck," Colliton said. "It's our job to put him in a position to get the most out of him. (Double shifting him on the power play is) an option for us, and we used it yesterday."
Kane then took 12 shifts in the third period, with the final three lasting 1:23, 1:04 and 1:48. He scored his 12th goal of the season in the second period and finished with 11 shot attempts (3 on goal).
"He had those rushes at the end of the game," Colliton said. "He looked like it was the first period and he hadn't played yet. We'll monitor it for sure because we want to keep him at his highest level, but he was pretty good."
Quiet, please:
Coach Jeremy Colliton's expression never changed as the Blackhawks fell behind 1-0, then 2-0 and 3-0 to Carolina on Thursday. He kept chewing his gum, shifted his weight from side to side and occasionally bent over to talk to his players.
"That's how I am," Colliton said after practice Friday. "I don't get too high or low. Certainly there's a time to ramp it up, but even then I'm not a screamer.
"I'm just going to be direct and try to tell the truth. And I think then they can take some feedback. You don't have to yell and scream to get your point across. That's how I try to be."
Slap shots:
Marcus Kruger (leg) did not practice Friday and did not travel for the Hawks' game at Philadelphia on Saturday. There is no timetable for his return. ... The Hawks came to terms with defenseman Nicolas Beaudin on a three-year, $3.5 million entry-level contract. Beaudin, the 27th pick of the 2018 draft, will remain in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He is currently out with a wrist injury. … Jonathan Toews took 24 of the Blackhawks' 45 faceoffs against Carolina on Thursday. He won 16 of them. ... Alex DeBrincat, who scored seven times in the first seven games, has just 1 goal in the last nine.