More details on Patrick Kane's health status, per Red Wings' coach Derek Lalonde
At Monday afternoon's Detroit Red Wings practice, Patrick Kane—out since January 14th against the Toronto Maple Leafs—was an active participant but not a full one.
He skated vigorously throughout the end-to-end drills that began the session, but he was not on a regular line for the rushes that composed the back half of practice. Instead, Kane rotated in with Klim Kostin, Joe Veleno, and Daniel Sprong on the Red Wings' fourth line
Jan 13, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings right wing Patrick Kane (88) skates with the puck in the second period against the Los Angeles Kings at Little Caesars Arena"We repped him through a couple line shifts there," said coach Derek Lalonde in his post-practice media availability, before re-affirming that Kane remains a possibility to play in Wednesday night's game against the Ottawa Senators. "Obviously looks pretty good, and again just think it's gonna be that tough call of is it worth getting him on a Wednesday. We'll only due it if he's 100%, but he's darn close. It's just gonna be that [question of whether to] play him Wednesday or give him that extra eight days, and we're not there yet, so we'll see how practice goes tomorrow."
When asked whether Detroit's successful run without Kane and present rhythm might play a role in dictating the timing of the winger's return, Lalonde offered an emphatic denial, instead stressing that the Red Wings still consider him an integral part of their plans moving forward:
"We want him back in when he's healthy. I know there's some people out there [talking about] our win-loss record with him and without him. Extremely unfair, because when he came on board, we were down two centers [Dylan Larkin and J.T. Compher], two goalies [Ville Husso and Alex Lyon], David Perron [to suspension]. We were a shadow of the lineup we are now...He's actually been pretty good towards the identity. Surprisingly, very strong with some defensive numbers. Obviously, he's not a guy that's gonna play heavy defensively, but he's smart, he gets above, he takes good ice, he manages his game...When he's healthy, he's in."
To date, the Red Wings are 18-9-3 without Kane in the lineup compared to just 8-9-2 with him, but, as Lalonde noted, Kane's health coincides with Detroit's worst spell of the season, when injuries, suspension, and a busy schedule came together to doom the team in December.
In 19 games, Kane has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points, and that hasn't just been hollow offense at the expense of defending.
At five-on-five this season, Kane ranks second (tied with Alex DeBrincat) among Red Wings who have played a minimum of 100 minutes in on-ice expected goal share at 59.1%. When Kane isn't on the ice, that rate drops to just 52.9% (both stats according to MoneyPuck.com). Obviously, that has as much to do with Kane's aptitude for puck possession as it does with his defending, but it's nonetheless an extremely positive sign as far as the form he arrived in Detroit with following his hip re-surfacing surgery.