Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane has missed the last nine games after sliding awkwardly into the boards on Oct. 17 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It's now been several weeks since the Detroit Red Wings last had future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane in their lineup, as he's been absent since sliding into the boards against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 17 shortly before Dylan Larkin's overtime game-winning goal.
Prior to his injury, Kane had been scoring at a point-per-game pace with two goals and three assists in the give games that he skated in.
The fact that he was back at practice on Thursday morning bode well for his chances of an impending return to the lineup, but he hasn't been given the official go-ahead yet.
As a top-notch competitor, it's been naturally difficult not being able to play.
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"It's brutal," Kane said about not being able to suit up. "Sometimes you need some time. Maybe originally, especially right after it happened, we didn’t think it was as bad as maybe the next day."
"After that, it was just kind of seeing where the symptoms were and where I was at," he continued. "The team’s played 14 games, and I’ve only played in five. It’s never fun to miss that much. But happy that I’ve taken the time and seeing the progress now.”
The Red Wings currently sit at 9-5 through the first 14 games of the campaign, good for second overall in the Atlantic Division. They're also coming off a five-game road trip in which they picked up six of a possible ten points up for grabs.
His inevitable return to the ice will not only help improve Detroit's power-play, but will also help balance out their forward units.
“I made contact with him a couple times about how he felt,” head coach Todd McLellan said. "He said he felt pretty good, so I think that’s positive. But that decision will be made tomorrow when we get a little more information.”
As Kane said, the club's biggest focus coming into the season was getting off to a good start, which they have managed to do. Now, they have to keep it going, and their chances of doing so greatly improve with him on the ice.
“People want to talk about playoffs and different things like that,” Kane said. “I think the focus more in here was just about getting off to a good start and putting ourselves into a good position, so I think we’ve got to be happy with where we’re at now. It’s, ‘Can we [maintain] it the rest of the way?’”
The Red Wings have a Friday evening tilt against the New York Rangers, and Kane's status for that game will be determined beforehand.
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