Patrick Kane Injured In Key Win Over Maple Leafs

The Detroit Red Wings provided no post-game update about Patrick Kane after he suffered a lower body injury in the first period of their 4-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Coach Derek Lalonde said during his post-game that he didn’t know whether Kane would be available to play Wednesday on the road against the Florida Panthers.

“No idea,” Lalonde said. “Honestly have not heard back. I’m not trying to be coy at all, I have not heard anything from our medical staff.”

Lalonde did say he did not believe the injury was related to his offseason hip surgery, but couldn’t be sure of that because he didn’t have all of the medical information. The Red Wings should have more information today, although they are scheduled to fly to Florida today.

Kane played one minute and seven seconds in the  first period before being forced out of the game with the undisclosed injury. He took a hit from forward Pontus Holmberg at 3:21 of the first period and then a short time later went tumbling into the boards while checking Holmberg at Detroit’s goalmouth.

Patrick Kane will not return…these two plays happened right before he left https://t.co/2iXIfuWpcH

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 15, 2024

The Red Wings signed Kane on Nov. 29, and he has made the Red Wings offense more dangerous. He had a goal and an assist Saturday in a win against the Los Angeles Kings.  He has 16 points in 19 games. Kane has shown impressive chemistry with Alex DeBrincat who was his linemate when they were together with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Detroit players have learned to count on Patrick Kane’s stickhandling ability to bring the puck into the offensive zone. He has been a catalyst on the power play. Losing him would be a significant loss, like it was against Toronto.

“That was tough adversity, too, especially the way our lines have been rolling here,” Lalonde said. “We’ve had some rhythm with our lines… I think guys responded well. I think we have a comfort level playing 11 and 7, so I don’t think it was anything new for the guys. We did a pretty good job with it.”

The Red Wings are headed to Florida today to play the Panthers on Wednesday. They will complete the three-game trip with a game at Carolina. The Red Wings currently hold one of the Eastern Conference’s two wild card spots. The Red Wings have not qualified for the playoffs in seven years.