- Patrick Kane left Monday’s loss to the Avalanche with an upper-body injury
- Jeff Blashill says Kane will miss “a couple of games, for sure”
- Read below for what Kane and Connor Bedard’s teammates said and what’s next for Chicago
Patrick Kane is hurt, and the Blackhawks will be without him for a bit.
Kane left Monday’s 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at the United Center with an upper-body injury and never came back. Coach Jeff Blashill said afterward the 37-year-old will “miss the next couple of games, for sure.”
The Blackhawks announced during the game that Kane would not return. His last shift came at 14:53 of the second period:
Nobody in the building seemed to know exactly what happened. Frank Nazar was asked about the injury after the game and said he missed it.
“I don’t know what happened, if it was in this game, wish I saw it and done something,” Nazar said. “Obviously hope he’s all right.”
Connor Bedard talked about what Kane means to the room.
“It goes without saying, he’s one of the heartbeats of this team, the guy we lean on so much, on and off the ice,” Bedard said. “He’s Patrick Kane, so goes without saying and we hope he’s back as soon as possible.”
The injury stings. Kane had just reached 900 career assists on Saturday against the Bruins, which we covered here. He has nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 15 games, and his eight assists lead Chicago. Only Bedard has more points on the team with 10.
Chicago looked fine early. Roman Kantserov scored off a Bedard feed to make it 2-0 in the first period, but Colorado scored the next five goals. Watch the Kantserov goal:
Chicago has lost three in a row and sits last in the Central Division at 4-10-1. The schedule doesn’t ease up, with a three-game road trip starting Wednesday in Florida, then stops in Tampa Bay on Thursday and Carolina on Saturday.
Kane signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Blackhawks in June after three seasons in Detroit. The team hasn’t given a firm return date, so the Panthers game is the first one to watch.
