Blackhawks' Kane really picked his game up over last couple of months
Patrick Kane had a simple message for Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat after they opened the scoring just 98 seconds into the Blackhawks' 8-3 victory over Anaheim on Tuesday.
“We're not stopping here.”
When that kind of confidence oozes out of a future Hall of Famer it can create a tremendous ripple effect that turns into a tsunami of goals.
“It kind of fires you up a little bit,” Strome said. “He's a pretty competitive guy, so he wants to be the best and pushes Alex and I to try to be just as good.”
It certainly worked against the Ducks as Kane racked up a career-high 6 points, Strome recorded his second hat trick in six weeks and DeBrincat notched his 33rd goal of the season as well as 3 assists.
“When we got put together last game (against Tampa Bay) we really started creating a lot,” said Kane, who has 19 goals and 45 assists on the season. “All three (of us) have the potential to make plays, hold onto it and draw guys to them and create space for our linemates. It was a good night; hopefully we can follow it up again.”
Kane got off to a hot start this season, but then endured a rough 19-game stretch in November and December, scoring twice on 56 shots. Since then, Kane has been more willing to shoot and is skating better.
It has translated into some impressive performances, with the exclamation mark coming Tuesday.
“He's skating better (and) he looks faster than he did at the start when I first came here,” said coach Derek King. “He's playing (like) the old Patrick Kane that we're used to. Hopefully he continues to play that way because he's helping Stromer and he's helping Cat.”
Kane is on pace for 92 points, which would be the third-highest total of his career, and he might surpass his career high in assists (66).
Meanwhile, Strome has 15 goals and will almost certainly go over his career best of 20, and DeBrincat might score 50 times.
Of course, it's one thing to explode against struggling teams like Anaheim, New Jersey, Edmonton and Detroit. It's another to start dinging teams like Tampa Bay, Boston (where the Hawks play Thursday), Minnesota and St. Louis on a consistent basis. That's definitely the next step this talented trio needs to take.
Still, nights like Tuesday definitely leave Kane's teammates in awe.
“Crazy,” said 23-year-old Brandon Hagel. “I mean he gets 4 points in the first period and you've got to be happy with that, but obviously he's not. So he keeps going forward. It's unbelievable to sit here and watch him do that, especially at the age he's at. ...
He's still breaking records for himself and for the team. ... Everyone's just shaking their heads like, ‘This guy's insane.'”
Maciver returns:
The Hawks named Norm Maciver associate general manager Wednesday, bringing back the 57-year-old just 14 months after he left to become Director of Player Personnel for the Seattle Kraken. As associate GM, Maciver will oversee the entire scouting operation.
Maciver was originally hired by the Hawks in 2006 and was eventually promoted to assistant GM in 2013.
“It is important in this new hockey operations department to balance strong knowledge in hockey with new and innovative thinking,” GM Kyle Davidson said in a statement. “Norm brings that institutional knowledge and is one of the best talent evaluators in the business — pushing the boundaries on new methods and techniques that we need here ...
“Norm has been a big help to me throughout my career personally, but he also isn't afraid to share his opinion and that is something that I respect most about him. He's a great first step in building this out.”
Before coming to the Hawks, Maciver spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Bruins and was an assistant coach in the AHL.
He played in 501 NHL games, scoring 55 goals and dishing out 230 assists with seven teams.
“He knows the players,” said coach Derek King. “He knows how to evaluate these players and what they're looking for. It's a good hire by Kyle. Those two have worked together and they know each other well.”
Tale of 3 seasons
Breaking down Patrick Kane's 2021-22 campaign:
<b>First 7 games: </b>5 goals, 6 assists, 5.43 shots on goal per game
<b>Next 19 games: </b>2 goals, 12 assists, 2.95 shots on goal per game
<b>Last 28 games: </b>12 goals, 27 assists, 3.96 shots on goal per game