Saturday night was a historic one in Los Angeles for United States hockey.
If there was any doubt before, there isn’t anymore. Patrick Kane has cemented himself as one of the greatest American-born hockey players of all-time; he’s well on his way towards becoming the very best.
Kane scored a power-play goal a little more than halfway through the opening period to not only give his Chicago Blackhawks a 1-0 lead, but to also break the record for the longest scoring streak for an American player at 19 games. Kane’s goal broke the tie of an 18-game point streak that was done by Phil Kessel and Eddie Olczyk.
During his 19-game streak, Kane has tallied 11 goals and 20 assists. On the season, Kane has 13 goals and 22 assists. His 35 points is good for a tie for the NHL scoring lead with Dallas Stars superstar Jamie Benn.
Kane is now two games away from tying the Blackhawks franchise point streak record held by the legendary Bobby Hull. As far as the league record for consecutive games with a point, Kane has a long way to go to catch up with the great Wayne Gretzky who recorded at least a point in 51 straight games during the 1983-84 season with the Edmonton Oilers.
Kane’s next chance to continue his streak comes on Tuesday when Chicago hosts the Minnesota Wild. Should he continue it then, he’ll have a chance to tie the team record on Thursday in Ottawa against the Senators.