Kane's historic night lifts Blackhawks to first victory
Not many hockey players can take 10 days off, suit up and proceed to turn an NHL game into their own personal showcase.
But Patrick Kane is not most hockey players. For 15 years he has defined "showtime" in Chicago, scoring so many clutch and highlight reel goals that it's difficult to remember them all.
The future Hall of Famer put on yet another magnificent display Monday by scoring 3 goals and adding an assist in leading the Blackhawks (1-7-2) to their first victory of the season, a 5-1 decision over Ottawa at the United Center.
Kane now has 408 career goals, moving past Steve Larmer (406) for third on the team's all-time list. He trails only Bobby Hull (604) and Stan Mikita (541).
"It means a lot," Kane said. "Original Six franchise and so many great players have come through here. ...
"Steve was a great player here for a long time, probably a guy who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Just humbled passing a man like that, who is such a great player on both ends of the rink - physical, could score. A great man as well."
Kane also moved into third on the team's all-time points list with 1,097, which is 1 more than Denis Savard.
Kane, who returned after missing four games while in COVID protocol, gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead early in the second period, a 4-0 advantage early in the third and a 5-1 lead on a breakaway at 7:17 of the third.
Brandon Hagel scored the Hawks' other 2 goals. Jonathan Toews added 3 assists, and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots.
Kane said he had "a little bit" of COVID symptoms but started feeling pretty good after a couple of days. He wasn't allowed to leave home or do much conditioning.
It can be tough for guys to return after just a few days off, so seeing what Kane was able to do against the Senators proves just how special an athlete he is.
"Every shift, he's a threat and someone you have to worry about," said coach Jeremy Colliton. "Probably had a bit of a slow start (to the season). But even the two games before he went on the COVID list, I thought he was trending the right way.
"He hadn't gotten rewarded, but you could feel it was coming. For him to miss 10 days and just step right in, that's a pretty special player."
The Hawks' nine-game winless streak to start the season was the worst in franchise history and tied for ninth-worst in NHL history with 11 other teams. The record is held by the 1943-44 New York Rangers, who lost 15 straight en route to a 6-39-5 campaign.
"Nice to get that win out of the way and now it's like a monkey off our shoulders," Kane said. "We can build off that and hopefully have a good month going forward."