Detroit Red Wings pull surprising player from the lineup moments before facing Blackhawks
Patrick Kane Pulled from Red Wings Lineup Before Preseason Game Against Blackhawks
In a move that may disappoint Blackhawks fans who purchased tickets tonight, Patrick Kane was taken out of the Detroit Red Wings' preseason lineup just before the team was set to fly to Chicago.
Fans were expecting to see Kane face his former team as reports stated, the Chicago Blackhawks, alongside Alex DeBrincat, but he won't be on the ice tonight.
At the morning skate before the trip, the Red Wings' lines looked like this:
DeBrincat-Larkin-Raymond
Soderblom-Kasper-Brandsegg-Nyg�rd
Watson-Veleno-Motte
Lombardi-Finnie-Mazur
Defense pairings:
Edvinsson-Petry
Gustafsson-Määttä
Johansson-Holl
Last season, he showed he still has it with an overtime goal against the Blackhawks, leading the Red Wings to a 3-2 win on the night Chris Chelios' jersey was retired.
In February of last season, Kane and DeBrincat teamed up for four points in a big win at the United Center. Kane had a great season, scoring 47 points in 51 games.
He was expected to play a big role tonight, but now, without him, the Red Wings will have to rely on others to fill the gap.
NHL.com did a great job on Patrick Kane's player bio which gives a glimpse of his historic career that is still not over.
Kane had 1,225 points (446 goals, 779 assists) in 1,161 games over 15 seasons with the Blackhawks. He is second in their history in points and assists behind Stan Mikita (1,467 points, 926 assists), third in goals behind Bobby Hull (604) and Mikita (541), and third in games played behind Mikita (1,396) and Duncan Keith (1,192). Kane helped Chicago to three Stanley Cup championships (2010, 2013, 2015) and was named as one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players, with Keith and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, to honor 100 years of NHL Hockey on Jan. 27, 2017 in Los Angeles, two days before to the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game.
Kane didn't allow a lack of size (5-foot-10, 177 pounds) to get in the way of becoming one of the best United States-born players in NHL history. He is one of two Blackhawks skaters (Mikita) with 1,200 NHL points, reaching the milestone in a 5-2 win against the Rangers on Dec. 3, 2022.
The Blackhawks selected Kane with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft after he had 145 points (62 goals, 83 assists) in 58 games for London of the Ontario Hockey League. He was an instant success, finishing 2007-08 with 72 points (21 goals, 51 assists) and winning the Calder Trophy voted as the NHL rookie of the year while helping Chicago to its first winning season since 2001-02.
By Kane's third season, he was a First Team NHL All-Star and Stanley Cup champion. He scored the Cup-winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final against the Philadelphia Flyers, beating goalie Michael Leighton with a shot that went in and out of the net so quickly that Kane was left to celebrate by himself for several seconds. The goal ended a 49-year championship drought for the Blackhawks.
Kane helped make sure there wouldn't be another lengthy gap between championships in Chicago; he had 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 23 games and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when the Blackhawks won the Cup in 2013 for the second time in four seasons. In 2015, Kane led all scorers in the postseason with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 23 games to help Chicago win the Cup for the third time in six seasons.
No showtime return to Chicago yet Hawks fans..
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 25 | 83 ANSWERS Detroit Red Wings pull surprising player from the lineup moments before facing Blackhawks Will the Red Wings still be able to beat Chicago in tonights preseason matchup? | ||
| Yes | 58 | 69.9 % |
| No | 25 | 30.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
