Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane addressed his costly penalty near the end of regulation during Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
The Detroit Red Wings suffered one of their most difficult losses of the season on Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Wild. And it was a costly penalty by a future Hall of Famer that ultimately opened the door for Minnesota’s late, game-winning power-play goal.
Forward Patrick Kane, who had just knotted the score at 4-4 minutes earlier to erase what had been a 4-1 Detroit deficit, inexplicably tripped former Michigan Wolverines defenseman Quinn Hughes in the neutral zone, well outside of the play.
Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov completed his sixth-career hat trick on the ensuing power-play, netting the winner with just 1:51 left in regulation.
While Kane did not speak after the game, he addressed the incident following Tuesday morning's practice at Little Caesars Arena.
"I mean, obviously, a lapse in judgment for sure. Looking back at the play, I've watched it obviously numerous times," he said. "Just going for a change, probably trying to get in front of Quinn a little bit and give a little bit of interference, and the stick got caught up in between his legs."
"Obviously, didn't mean to do that or take a penalty at that time of the game, but nonetheless, I take responsibility for what happened there," he continued. "It just sucks that time and moment, you're down 4-1, and coach challenges you, you come back to make it 4-4, and give it away on one stupid play."
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Head coach Todd McLellan was asked his thoughts on the penalty and if there were any conversations with Kane about what had transpired.
"You figure he knows how he should be feeling, but if we're (coaching staff) doing our jobs, we still meet with him, and I've met with him, we've dealt with it, we're moving on," he said. "We can't turn the clock back now and change it. And I know he's owned it. That's two nights ago now; we've got to move forward."
As a longtime NHL veteran with multiple Stanley Cup rings, Kane understands all too well the weight of a mistake like that, especially with so much at stake in the playoff race.
"You feel like you let your teammates down after all we'd been through in that game, to come back and maybe get a point or two," Kane said. "It's disappointing to end up with nothing, obviously."
Kane and the Red Wings have no choice but to regroup for Tuesday evening's matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are tied with them in the standings at 88 points apiece.
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