Can Patrick Kane Lift the Rangers as the N.H.L. Playoffs Loom?

Kane, 34, is the latest superstar to join the Blueshirts in their 30s or late 20s, adding to a list that includes Mark Messier, Wayne Gretzky, Pavel Bure, Eric Lindros, Jaromir Jagr, Luc Robitaille and Phil Esposito.

But on a night that was supposed to celebrate the arrival of this new Ranger, an old Ranger spoiled the festivities as Brassard scored twice in the Senators 5-3 win over the Rangers, putting a small damper on high expectations.

Kane looked slightly nervous or rusty at times, turning the puck over or failing to corral it as deftly as he normally does. A few times he declined open shots in favor of an extra pass, to the dismay of fans, who screamed for him to shoot whenever he had space.

But with 446 goals and 779 assists in 1,162 career games, Kane is as much a playmaker as a scorer — as skilled with the puck on his stick as anyone over the past 16 seasons, since he was drafted No. 1 overall by Chicago in 2007 and emerged as one of the best American-born players in the history of the N.H.L.

It has been a brilliant career to date, with three Stanley Cup championships, a Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie and a Hart Trophy as its most valuable player in 2016 as he became the first American to win that award.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/03/sports/hockey/rangers-kane-nhl.html