Patrick Kane extends franchise record as Blackhawks handle Predators

Kristen J Shilton | USATODAY

CHICAGO — Patrick Kane already owns the Chicago Blackhawks’ franchise record for longest point streak at 22 games. So grabbing an empty net goal on Tuesday to extend the streak to 23 games wasn’t weighing heavily on his mind, at least until his eager audience became restless.

“I’m not really thinking about (the streak) to be honest with you,” Kane said. “I’m just playing the game. I wasn’t thinking about it too much until the end there, (when) you hear the crowd cheering and you know they’re looking for something and that’s when you want to get something in the net.”

Kane’s 110-foot tally (on his only credited shot of the night) at 18:24 of the third period satiated the team’s faithful and iced the Blackhawks' 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators at United Center. Twenty-eight games into his 2015-16 campaign, Kane has amassed 43 points (17G, 26A) and sits at or near the top of nearly every major offensive stat category in the NHL. Tuesday's goal was also his 600th career point, making him the first of the 2007 NHL draft class to reach the milestone.

“It’s nice to see him extend (the streak),” said Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville. “He had some great looks to get it earlier (in the night) too. It’s nice to see him continue on. It’s something special.”

Achieving a streak like Kane’s is rare for a multitude of reasons, from increasingly savvy goaltending to ill-timed injuries (of which Kane is no stranger). Only three other point streaks this century can compare to Kane’s: Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby’s 25-game point streak from Nov. 5 to Dec. 28, 2010, former Ottawa Senators forward Dany Heatley's 22-game streak to kick-off the 2005-06 campaign and Paul Stastny’s 20-game streak in 2006-07 with the Colorado Avalanche.

“Our main goal is to pick up points as a team and keep building on this momentum, but (the record) is a part of it too,” said Blackhawks netminder Corey Crawford. “When a guy is doing something special like that it kind of brings everyone together and gives you that extra boost.”

Offense is at a premium now more than ever before, which explains the few examples to measure Kane against. Teams average 2.65 goals per game now compared to more than five goals per game in the 1980s. So the fact Kane’s points in the last two games have come off an empty net assist and score shouldn’t necessarily diminish his accomplishment.

“Streaks like that, you need those types of points to keep it going, especially nowadays when goals and assists are tough to come by,” Crawford said. “To pick (up points) you have to get them any way you can.”

The last time Kane didn’t have a point this season was in back-to-back games at Philadelphia and Washington on Oct. 14-15. Since then he has developed the kind of chemistry with his linemates Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin that he hasn’t had since being paired with captain Jonathan Toews. His linemates were instrumental in him breaking Bobby Hull’s nearly 44-year-old streak of 21 games, feeding his stick and setting him up more than usual, but now Kane is ready to get back to normal.

“I think we have to play the right way here,” he said. “(My teammates) maybe have been over-passing in the last (record-breaking) game but tonight we just wanted to play our (usual) way. I was telling (them), we just play the way we know how and things have been happening. Hopefully we can get back to producing like we were.”

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