One of the NHL’s highest scoring teams will add a future Hall of Fame forward to its lineup on Thursday.
Patrick Kane, who has scored 451 goals during his illustrious 16-season career, signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 29. He will make his season debut against the visiting San Jose Sharks, coach Derek Lalonde confirmed Wednesday.
Kane underwent hip-resurfacing surgery in June.
“My body feels good,” Kane said after a Red Wings practice last week. “Just more of almost learning the game again, and hopefully it’s one of those things you do it for one game, two games, three games, it just comes back to you naturally. I’m confident I’ll get there, I just have to be patient with it a little bit.”
Kane scored a combined 21 goals in 73 regular-season games with Chicago and the New York Rangers last season. He could be skating again with his former Blackhawks linemate, Alex DeBrincat, who leads the Wings with 13 goals and is tied with Dylan Larkin with 24 points.
“His hockey IQ is pretty high, above a lot of other people,” DeBrincat said. “The way he’s able to slow the game down and make the game come to him, he’s obviously a guy the other team is worried about and is focused on.”
The Wings have been on a roll since returning from a two-game trip to Sweden, winning six of their last seven games. They have scored exactly five goals in each game of their current three-game winning streak, including a 5-3 win at Buffalo on Tuesday.
Larkin scored twice against the Sabres and Robby Fabbri contributed his sixth goal in his last seven games.
“We have a good thing in this locker room right now,” Larkin said. “Coming home from Sweden, we gelled really well and it’s just showed out on the ice. We care about each other and playing the right way. It’s a lot of fun right now.”
The Sharks were 3-15-2 through Nov. 24 but have since won four of their last six, including a 5-4 overtime triumph on the road against the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Tomas Hertl recorded his sixth career hat trick, including a pair of third-period goals to tie the contest. William Eklund scored the game-winner with five seconds remaining during the overtime session.
“He’s really important for me,” Eklund said of Hertl. “He’s always talking on the bench, always commenting with tips and tricks, something I really appreciate from him. Always looking to see what we can do better. Obviously for the team, scoring a hat trick, and being the leader he is, it’s huge for us.”
The victory was just San Jose’s second on the road this season.
“We never quit, we stuck with it and just put ourselves in a position to have a chance,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “We didn’t get cute on the six-on-five. It was real simple, quick puck movement, shooting pucks, retrieving them. … We made hockey plays. Early on in the season we weren’t making them, but we are making a lot more of them now.”
The Sharks will be playing the fifth of six consecutive road games on Thursday. They’ll wrap up the long journey at Vegas on Sunday.
–Field Level Media