By Ansar Khan, Tribune News Service
DETROIT – Missing their top two centers including their captain for possibly several more games, the Detroit Red Wings need somebody to take charge of their struggling offense.
Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat did just that on Monday. The longtime linemates going back to their time in Chicago led the way in a vital 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames, Kane scoring two goals and DeBrincat contributing three assists.“We got some really strong performances from some guys that elevated their games and we’re going to continue to need that to have success,” coach Todd McLellan said. “It was good to see some of the old Kaner, J.T. (Compher) and Cat and a few others get rewarded for their elevated play, and they’ve done it for the last five or six games.”
Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp, both out with lower-body injuries, are expected to miss the next three games of this homestand before being re-evaluated.
That’s two of the top-six scorers on a team that doesn’t generate a lot of offense.
But Kane and DeBrincat sparked a four-goal surge in the first half of the second period that put Detroit in control.
“It’s an important time and it’s tough when you see some of your best players go down,” Kane said. “But the position we’re in, I think in some respect you’re playing for them, trying to do the job while they’re out, so when they come back, we’re in a good position as a team.”
Kane’s first goal, on a breakaway at 1:03, was his 503rd, moving him past Joe Mullen into fourth place among U.S.-born players, behind Mike Modano (561), Keith Tkachuk (538) and Jeremy Roenick (513).
“It’s definitely a humbling milestone,” Kane said.
In 10 games since the Olympic break, Kane has four goals and four assists while DeBrincat has three goals and nine assists.
“I think we’ve been getting a lot of chances as of late, probably since we came back from break and we’ve had a lot of looks,” Kane said. “Just production really hasn’t been there for whatever reason. I think the message going into the game now is we know we’re going to get looks, we know we’re going to get chances, just got to focus and bear down when they come.”
McLellan said Kane has had a lot of jump for a couple games.
“I think he understands the situation and the need for him to elevate and he’s capable of doing it,” McLellan said.
Said Kane: “We all want to be known as big-game players. And I think if you have the right mindset and attitude coming into it that you’re going to play confident, you’re going to get the job done. More often than not you play with a little bit of an edge and kind of put together a better showing individually and team-wise too.”
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