Patrick Kane smiled. The wait was over.
Kane became the highest-scoring United States-born player in NHL history, passing Mike Modano with an assist for his 1,375th point on Thursday night for the Detroit Red Wings against the Washington Capitals.
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“It’s nice to have it over with in some ways and worry about the rest of the season,” Kane said after Washington's 4-3 shootout win.
Kane passed the puck from the boards to Alex DeBrincat in the left circle, and DeBrincat set up Ben Chiarot for a tying goal from the point midway through the second period.
Kane flashed a grin and hugged Chiarot.
He was surrounded by teammates, including those who emptied the bench to join a brief celebration. As Kane skated away, the spotlight was put on him and he raised his stick to acknowledge the crowd while appearing to be on the verge of tears.
His likeness was shown on the videoboards at Little Caesars Arena with an American flag in the background and the number 1,375.
Modano held the mark for 18-plus years. Kane reached the milestone a couple of months after turning 37, while Modano was 40 when he scored a goal to register point No. 1,374, passing Phil Housley.
“I knew at an early age in your career you would be the one chasing this number down and here we are,” Modano said in a prerecorded message played on the videoboards. “Continue on and make this number harder for the next guy."
Kane has been one of the faces of American hockey since getting taken with the first pick in the 2007 draft by Chicago. He helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup three times from 2010-15 as a co-headliner of one of the most successful runs since the league’s salary cap era began in ’05.
“When you think of USA Hockey, he’s one of the first players that comes to mind, if not the first player,” fellow American Jack Eichel said. “Such a great representation of USA Hockey and us Americans — something for a lot of the guys that came after him to strive to be, myself included.”
U.S.-born defenseman Charlie McAvoy recalled watching Kane on those long runs “do stuff that at the time people didn’t do.”
“His type of player just transcends now, when back then there wasn’t anybody that was really doing that,” U.S.-born defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “He changed the game of hockey. He’s an absolute legend. And it’s great that he’s an American.”
Earlier this month, Kane became the 50th player and fifth American to score 500 goals, following Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick and Joe Mullen. Brett Hull, a dual citizen who was born in Canada and played internationally for the U.S., had 741 goals and 1,391 points.
“He’s well on his way to being the best USA player of all time,” countryman Jack Hughes said.
Kane won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in ’07-08, the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2013 and the Hart Trophy as regular-season MVP in 2015-16, when he also led the league in scoring.
“Such an iconic player, just played with such passion,” said Tage Thompson, who’s a first-time U.S. Olympian this year. “Very enthusiastic, loved scoring goals, loved making plays.”
Kane's slick hands more than made up for him being on the smaller side at 5-foot-10 and under 180 pounds.
“He’s maybe got the best highlight reel of all time,” Hughes said. “Just as a kid, you watch all of his videos and everything, and you’re like, that’s the guy you want to be just because of how skilled he is.”
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Whyno reported from New York.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl