Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane suffered an upper-body injury in the second period of Monday’s 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at the United Center. Coach Jeff Blashill said Kane will miss at least “the next couple of games.”
On his last shift, Kane’s stick collided with the net behind goaltender Spencer Knight. He appeared to be skating gingerly before then, so it’s unclear when the injury took place or what it is.
He didn’t play the rest of the game and was officially ruled out for the entire third period. Kane has nine points this season (one goal, team-high eight assists), second on the Hawks behind captain Connor Bedard’s 10 points.
“He’s the heartbeat of this team, the guy that we lean on so much on and off the ice,” Bedard said. “And the biggest thing is we just hope he’s fine and hope he’s ready to go as soon as possible.”
Kane, 37, returned to the Hawks in July after a little over three seasons with the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings. He hasn’t scored a goal since the season opener Sept. 29 in Las Vegas but notched his 900th career assist Saturday against the Boston Bruins.
The Hawks (4-10-1) gave up five unanswered goals to the Avalanche after taking a 2-0 lead in the first 7:05. They have lost three straight and six of seven.
“I’d be lying (if I said) there’s no frustration,” Bedard said. “We’re 4-11, but I don’t think there’s a lack of belief or a lack of effort in here.”
Added Blashill: “A lot of times the score dictates how people feel about the game. We competed hard. They’re a good team, they competed hard. They won the game, but it was a game that if you take the emotion or the score out from clouding your vision, it’s a pretty even game and we lose it.”
The Hawks introduced their hometown remix jerseys — very similar to their St. Patrick’s Day jerseys — paying homage to the annual dyeing of the Chicago River. The luck was on their side early, as Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar practically scored on himself while attempting to block Wyatt Kaiser’s first-period shot.
Roman Kantserov scored the Hawks’ second goal, his sixth of the season. He’s tied with the Bruins’ James Hagens for the most goals by a rookie.
The luck ran out immediately as the Avalanche (9-5-1) scored two goals in 26 seconds and didn’t look back. Forwards Jaden Schwartz and Nazem Kadri scored two goals each, and defenseman Devon Toews added an empty-net goal in the third.
“Is there concern about results? Of course, we’d like to be 15-0,” Blashill said. “But we’ve had enough games where we’ve been in position to win and we haven’t won enough of those.
“If you continuously do it over and over and get incrementally better, at some point you look back and you say, ‘We did a good job climbing out of that.'”
Photos: Colorado Avalanche 5, Chicago Blackhawks 2
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The Hawks drew six penalties, including a double-minor on Artyom Levshunov for a high elbow on Makar. That drew the ire of Avalanche center Martin Necas, resulting in a scrum.
“I didn’t like it at all. I thought it was more than just a two-minute elbowing too,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, who later hip-checked Levshunov in midair, told reporters postgame. “He leaves his feet and he makes head contact. Should have been reviewed for that. If the refs aren’t going to call it, then we’ve got to take it into our hands a little bit.”
The Hawks now embark on a three-game trip, starting with back-to-back games Wednesday and Thursday against the Florida Panthers (8-5-2) and Tampa Bay Lightning (8-3-2) and finishing Saturday against the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes (12-2-2). Those three teams plus the Avalanche have combined to win six of the last seven Stanley Cups.