Patrick Kane Securing His Place As Blackhawks All-Time Great

Chicago Blackhawks forward, Patrick Kane, got an assist on Dylan Strome‘s late goal Thursday night. This was Kane’s 600th career NHL point, joining two other Blackhawks’ legends.

Patrick Kane turned 31 on Tuesday and joined legendary Chicago Blackhawks’ company on Thursday with his 600th career assist. Kane was upset that the team lost the game, not concerned about hitting 600 points. That shows the kind of team player Kane is.

Kane is only 31-years-old and is on his way to being the best American-born hockey player. He is in the top-10 of all the key major stats among American hockey players. Kane is currently riding an 11-game point streak that started November 2nd against the Kings.

Throughout his career, Patrick Kane has had many point streaks with his longest streak lasting 26 games in 2015. This streak reminds us a lot about 2015. Kane has 29 points in 22 games this season. He is currently on pace for 108 points this season. This new and improved Kane has the skill to hit the 100 point mark for the third time in his career. The question is, can this team make the playoffs?

It’s that time of the year where we see another Kane point streak. They’re the most fun thing going around Chicago Blackhawks’ hockey, besides winning. After Kane hit this big milestone, it’s only foreshadowing how much further this streak will go.

Once a player hits double digits in a point streak, the pressure begins to weigh heavily on the player. Wayne Gretzky talked about it in 2015. Gretzky talked about how players and their teammates feel the pressure. They always want to get you the puck to keep it going. Gretzky is also the player that holds the record for the longest point streak (51 games).

Kane is 33 points away from hitting 1,000 career points. If the point streak can go another 10-15 games, he will hit it during this streak. Chances are that he won’t. Kane will hit 1,000 right before we ring in the new year. The Chicago Blackhawks play 19 more games in 2019. Kane can easily rack up 33 points during that time span.

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My worry with Kane’s point streak comes on how late he’s getting these points. The longer a game goes on, the probability drastically decreases. On Thursday, it took Kane until the final minutes to get a secondary assist. On Saturday, against a tough Dallas Stars team, he probably won’t have the opportunity to get those last-minute points.

The streak could be over tomorrow, dying at 11 games. The Blackhawks’ next five games are tough against Central Division rivals. Any of these next five games could leave Kane’s point streak where it lies. Although the next few games are tough, I think Kane can find a way to rack up a couple more points while playing 20+ minutes each game.

I am going with Arizona ending Kane’s point streak at 20 games. This game is a complete trap game for the Chicago Blackhawks and Patrick Kane. Their next nine games are very tough, important games. Kane usually rises to the occasion in these moments. The Coyotes are a team the Blackhawks could easily fall to. Simply, because it’s a trap game.

I would love to see the point streak last the rest of the season and into the playoffs, but that’s not a very realistic expectation. Let’s hope I’m wrong and Kane can beat the 26 game point streak he had in 2015. He has an opportunity to extend his point streak to 11 games tonight against the Dallas Stars.