Kane, now 31, continued to dominate his competition per usual in his 13th NHL season.
Chicago Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane had the best statistical season of his career in 2018-19, with career-highs in assists (66), points (110), even-strength assists (45), shots on goal (341), and time on ice per game (22:29). Not bad for the first season of his 30’s. Kane continued to prove that age is just a number in 2019-20, as he picked up right where he left off from last year and was on pace for his third career 100-point campaign before the NHL was forced to cancel the remainder of the regular season.
Kane finished this season with 33 goals and 51 assists for 84 points while playing in all 70 games for the Blackhawks. The only statistic that was down for Kane was his average time on ice (21:20), which was over a full minute less than it was last year. Although, cutting back on his ice time might not be the worst idea, as the Hawks need the Buffalo, New York native to be fresh late in the year. Kane was also guilty of taking too many unnecessary penalties, as his 40 penalty minutes were the most in a season since he was 23.
Taking a look at Kane’s possession metrics, he surprisingly finished with the worst Corsi percentage (49.1 CF%) of his 13-year career in 2019-20. This could be due to his increased defensive-zone start percentage, which was up from his career average of 35.2% to 42.9%. Kane was on the ice for 72 goals for at even strength to just 56 goals against though, so the possession numbers do not tell the full story on Kane’s game this season. The 2016 Hart Trophy winner was a factor every time he stepped onto the ice, leading the Blackhawks with an estimated 9.6 point shares.
Out of the 70 games that Kane played in this season, he was remarkably held off the scoresheet in only 16 of them. Even more astounding is that he was responsible for more multi-point efforts (20) than scoreless ones, including eight three-point games as well. Kane’s most impressive performance of the year was probably his hat trick against the division rival Minnesota Wild, but he had a pair of four-point contests on the year, too (1G, 3A 12/19 vs. WPG, 2G, 2A 12/31 vs CGY).
All in all, 2019-20 was just another year for ‘Showtime’, as he continued to dominate his opponents in style. Much like scotch whiskey or a bottle of fine wine, Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane only appears to be getting better with age.
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