Teammates streamed onto the ice to congratulate Patrick Kane as he became the all-time U.S.-born leading scorer in NHL history.
With his parents and other family cheering from the stands at Little Caesars Arena, Kane – nicknamed “Showtime” for his dazzling style – achieved a historic milestone. His 1,375th point was on an assist, in the second period of the Detroit Red Wings’ game on Thursday, Jan. 29 against the Washington Capitals. An octopus landed on the ice and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” was on blast, until replaced by Pearl Jam’s “Alive” – a favorite of Kane’s.
The Wings got fans on their feet again late in the third period with two goals in the final two minutes. Alex DeBrincat scored both, with the second one taking a wild bounce off the the cutout for cameras on the right-side glass and going in off goalie Charlie Lindgren’s back. Despite the Capitals possessing the puck pretty much the last two minutes of overtime, they only managed one shot on goal, sending the game to a shootout.
The Wings ended up settling for a point in a 4-3 loss.
Red Wings playoff position
Meanwhile everybody right around the Wings in the Atlantic Division standings won: The leading Tampa Bay Lightning (who have played three fewer games than the Wings) reached 72 points to stay in first place, and those giving closest chase to the Wings – the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins – all banked two points apiece, to reach 67. But the overtime loss earned the Red Wings a point, putting them at 70 (32-17-6), while the Sabres slipped into third, while playing two fewer games. The Sabres have the NHL’s longest active playoff drought, at 11 seasons, while the Red Wings are second, at nine.
A third-period rally
The third period lived up to the night. Dylan Strome scored a go-ahead on a wraparound at the midpoint. The Wings challenged the goal – Alex Ovechkin was near the paint, and goalie John Gibson’s glove appeared to have covered the puck before Strome took control. Officials didn’t see any issues through, and the goal stood, putting the Wings on a penalty kill. Declan Chisholm furthered the challenge when he scored with 5:12 to play, but after pulling Gibson, the Wings were able to pull closer on a goal from DeBrincat with 1:40 left.
It was par for an amazing night.
Kane’s passed metro Detroit native Mike Modano, who, like Kane, joined the Wings late in his career. Kane achieved the milestone when he carried the puck towards the left corner before passing to DeBrincat, who spun around and found Ben Chiarot for a slapshot at 9:52 of the first period. Kane was engulfed in red and white as teammates surrounded him.
For all that the focus had intensified after Kane tied Modano’s record one game earlier, the Wings needed to pay attention, too, to how they were playing.
It seemed like that was going to start well when the Capitals were called for a penalty a minute into the game. But a celebration 2:26 into the game when Kane set up DeBrincat on a power play proved premature. But in the time it took for building personnel to put a graphic celebration Kane up on the jumbotron, video review by officials showed the play was offside.
Instead, it was the Capitals who struck first, with Nic Dowd, seconds after getting tangled up with Chiarot, beating Gibson from the left circle, at 6:27. The Wings had another power play late in the first period, but had trouble getting shots on Lindgren and were outshot, 7-3 in the first period overall.
Next up for the Wings
Detroit has one more game on its current homestand, with the West-leading Colorado Avalanche coming to LCA on Saturday (1 p.m., ABC). The Wings then have two road games (at Colorado on Tuesday and Utah on Feb. 5) before the Olympic break. Detroit’s next home game comes March 4 – just before the NHL trade deadline – against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Patrick Kane gets point; rally in 3rd gets Detroit Red Wings one, too
