Six months after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery, Patrick Kane will make his Detroit Red Wings debut Thursday against the San Jose Sharks.
“A lot of unknowns still there, so I think we’ll all be patient with it,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde told reporters Wednesday. “He’s been a really good teammate from the sidelines so far, and we’re excited to get him in (Thursday).”
In choosing to sign a one-year contract with the Red Wings, one of the selling points for Kane was a reunion with Alex DeBrincat. On Thursday, Kane and DeBrincat are expected to skate on the same line with Joe Veleno at centre. (Normal second-line centre J.T. Compher is out with an undisclosed injury.)
DeBrincat leads all Red Wings with 13 goals, nine of which have come at 5-on-5. Detroit has a significant edge in goals (22-9) when DeBrincat is on the ice, mostly with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.
Over five seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Kane and DeBrincat enjoyed great success as linemates. Kane has assisted on 72 of DeBrincat’s 200 career goals. Only Jonathan Toews (118) has scored more goals off of Kane assists.
Kane directly set up 232 of DeBrincat’s 570 scoring chances (40.7 per cent) in all situations when both were on the ice.
“We developed a lot of success with cross-ice passes and being able to play more of an east-west game,” Kane told reporters after joining the Red Wings. “He’s also very tenacious and feisty on the forecheck as well, where he can get pucks back and make quick plays out of turning pucks over.”
At 5-on-5, the Blackhawks outscored opponents 115-106 when Kane and DeBrincat were on the ice. Chicago controlled 49.3 per cent of expected goals in those minutes.
High-event hockey was the norm whenever Kane and DeBrincat hopped over the boards for the Blackhawks. Their mission was clear: Score goals.
Kane’s bothersome hip prevented him from making much of an impact offensively last season. He averaged 6.13 offence-generating plays per 20 minutes at 5-on-5, which was tied for 167th out of 503 forwards who played at least 100 minutes. It was his lowest total since data tracking began in 2016-17. (Offence-generating plays include slot passes, carries to the slot and passes for one-timers, among other events that lead to scoring chances.)
Now that he is pain-free, Kane hopes he can regain his previous form alongside one of his closest friends.
“The DeBrincat factor had something to do with (joining the Red Wings),” Kane told reporters. “Just being comfortable with him on and off the ice, try to build that chemistry again. A lot of good pieces here and it’s a young team but I think they’re on the rise and there’s a chance to build something.”
All stats via Sportlogiq
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