Kane, DeBrincat Struggling to Maintain Consistent Chemistry

From The Silky Mitten State: Unpacking mixed results from Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat as the Red Wings push for the playoffs

Both Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat have enjoyed moments of brilliance—together and apart—during their first seasons as Detroit Red Wings. However, in the midst of the Red Wings' present playoff push, neither Kane nor DeBrincat is enjoying their most productive form of the season.

It's not as though they aren't scoring at all. Kane has three goals (though no assists) in his last five games, while DeBrincat picked up three assists in last night's loss in Pittsburgh. However, DeBrincat has scored just once since the start of March, while Kane often struggles to make an impact when he isn't scoring.

On the most recent episode of The Silky Mitten State, my co-host Connor Earegood and I discussed the state of Kane and DeBrincat's chemistry and production. We weighed the pros and cons of keeping the pair together versus moving them to separate lines in search of a spark.

With Kane, we got into the sense that he remains a remarkably decisive player, requiring hardly any time and space to create offense. His knack for coming up with plays in big moments remains in place. However, he has also struggled with turnovers at points in recent games, and he's never been a player known for winning pucks along the boards. In DeBrincat's case, we discussed the relative disappointment that would be falling short of 30 goals for the season (he currently has 24, with just three games remaining).

For an excerpt of the discussion, check out the clip below: