Patrick Kane could be out several weeks with a significant injury after being checked into the boards during the first period of the Blackhawks’ 3-2 shootout win over the Panthers Tuesday.
Kane was checked by Alex Petrovic and the entire left side of his body crashed straight into the boards. The league’s leading points scorer got up, exited the ice and did not return.
The ‘Hawks termed it an upper-body injury for Kane, while a source told The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc that Kane’s status is, “not good. At all.” Kuc also reports that Kane will be out at least six weeks, and possibly even more than 10. Some have speculated that he has a broken collarbone.
Petrovic was sent to the penalty box with a two-minute minor for cross-checking. He hit Kane from behind, which did not sit well with Kaner’s teammates.
“You get ticked off when the best player in the league gets hit like that,” Kris Versteeg said via The Tribune. “People pay a lot of money to watch Patrick Kane play. It’s never good when he’s out of the lineup, not only for us but for the league.”
The Blackhawks are currently third in the Western Conference with 77 points with only 21 games remain in the regular season. That means that Kane, who is tied for the NHL’s lead with 64 points, might not be back before the playoffs, if he even returns by then.
