Unique assist for Kane sets Blackhawks record

It probably wasn’t the way he drew it up in his mind, but Patrick Kane made Chicago Blackhawks history Sunday night when Artemi Panarin scored an empty-net goal with 1:46 remaining in regulation with Kane getting an assist.

That assist helped Kane extend his point-scoring streak to 22 games, giving him sole possession of the longest such streak in Blackhawks history. He passed Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, who had points in 21 consecutive games in 1971-72.

Hull, who expressed his hope that Kane would break the record, was in the building to witness Kane supplant him in one aspect of the Blackhawks’ record books, but possibly not the last.

It was looking pretty bleak for Kane’s chances to extend the streak late against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, but when they pulled the goalie, Kane’s line was on the ice. This assist was awfully unconventional as well. It was actually a hand pass, which is legal for a team when they are in their defensive zone.

Kane swatted a loose puck out of midair that was picked up by Panarin, who then sent a long-range shot into the net to help Kane extend the streak. This might have been the most unconventional point of them all, despite the empty net. Take a look:

That’s some kinda record-breaking assist for @88PKane. https://t.co/ivLIpyPeUT

— NHL (@NHL) December 7, 2015

That assist was Kane’s 23rd of the streak and 26th this season. He has 36 points over the streak and an NHL-leading 42 overall. No player in the NHL has more points over their entire season than the 36 Kane has scored on the streak alone.

Kane is also only the third player since 1992-93 to register a point scoring streak of 22 or more games, according to NHL PR. Dany Heatley had a 22-game streak during the 2005-06 season while with the Ottawa Senators. Only Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby in 2010-11 had a longer streak. He had points in 25 consecutive games.

NHL.com’s Rob Vollman even took a deeper look at the streak before Sunday’s game, measuring its impressiveness on a historic scale. Wayne Gretzky is the all-time record holder with a 51- game scoring streak in 1983-84, but Kane is doing something even the Great One didn’t during his streak. News flash: It’s very impressive:

In absolute terms, Gretzky’s all-time record of scoring in 51 consecutive games is out of reach, but Kane has had a larger share of Chicago’s total offense during his streak than Gretzky had of the Edmonton offense during his. Kane has either scored or assisted on 57.4 percent of Chicago’s scoring throughout this streak, compared to 51.2 percent for Gretzky during his 1983-84 streak.

You have to keep in mind that Kane is doing what he’s doing in a season where one of the biggest arguments is that there isn’t enough scoring in the league. He’s on pace to score 128 points this year. No one has had more than 125 since 2005-06.

This streak and this season for Kane has been absolutely incredible.

Patrick Kane makes Blackhawks history with his assist Sunday. (WGN)

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