Patrick Kane, as he always is, was the last one off the ice after warmups before Tuesday’s preseason opener against Detroit. And Kane, as he always does, scooped up a puck on the blade of his stick and flipped it into the stands. And the fans, as they always do, cheered wildly.
Despite the police investigation involving Kane and a woman in Western New York, the Blackhawks winger still has plenty of support.
“The support’s been really good,” Kane said before the game. “Just driving in [to the training camp festival Monday night], you see some 88 jerseys walking into the building and things like that. It’s pretty cool to see. Fans have always been great here, but especially the last week, or whatever it’s been, the support has been great. That’s kind of what you come to expect from Chicago fans, in a good way. So it’s exciting.”
Kane led a 3-on-1 rush that ended in a Trevor Daley goal and capped the Hawks’ 5-4 overtime victory over the Red Wings, who were without most of their top players (few Hawks stars will travel to Detroit for Wednesday’s return match). Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist, and Kyle Baun and Teuvo Teravainen added goals for the Hawks. Scott Darling started in net and was sharp from the start, and spectacular at times in stopping all 22 shots he faced. Mark Visentin didn’t fare as well in the second half of the game, allowing four goals as the Wings rallied from 4-1 down.
The Hawks got a major scare in the second period when Marko Dano — one of the key components of the Brandon Saad trade and the breakout star of training camp — had to be helped off the ice after taking a shoulder from Brendan Smith. But Dano returned later in the period.
