Dan Hamhuis
Canucks-Blackhawks Preview
Dan Hamhuis

Canucks-Blackhawks Preview

Published Dec. 12, 2015 11:14 p.m. ET

Patrick Kane has joined or passed some big names in matching the NHL's longest point streak since 1992-93: Sidney Crosby, Bobby and Brett Hull, Phil Kessel, Eddie Olczyk.

Although Wayne Gretzky's record remains a pipe dream, within reach are names like Guy LaFleur, Steve Yzerman, Paul Coffey, Mario Lemieux and - yes - even Gretzky to an extent.

After pushing his franchise-record run to 25 games, Kane looks to help the Chicago Blackhawks win their fourth in five contests Sunday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

Kane leads the league with 45 points after scoring his 19th goal on the power play in a 2-0 victory over Winnipeg on Friday, tying Crosby in 2010-11 for the longest point streak in the league since Mats Sundin's 30-game run in '92-93.

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Having already broken the mark for an American player first set by Olczyk and Kessel and Bobby Hull's team record, he became the fifth player since '90-91 with a streak of at least 25, joining Crosby, Sundin, Brett Hull (25 in '91-92) and Gretzky (25 in '90-91).

"It's not really important," Kane said, "but I think it's one of those things when you realize what elite company you're in when you're with these great players that have these great streaks, it definitely humbles you."

Next up for the star right winger among the NHL's longest streaks is the 28-game plateau, which was reached by LaFleur ('76-77), Gretzky ('84-85), Lemieux and Coffey ('85-86) and most recently by Yzerman ('88-89).

Beyond Sundin's streak and Gretzky's own 30-game run in '82-83, things become a bit harder to fathom. In addition to yet another monstrous flurry in '85-86 that reached 39 games, Gretzky holds the record of 51 in '83-84 followed by Lemieux's 46 in '89-90.

"Obviously, I feel honored and very fortunate to be involved with names like those," said Kane, who has 16 goals and 23 assists during his streak. "It's something I'm trying not to think about too much. Just go out and play the game."

Kane's output on his run is smaller than that of Crosby, who had 26 goals and 24 assists, and his team has also failed to capitalize the way Pittsburgh did that season, going 14-7-4 compared to the 19-5-1 mark the Penguins had behind their star center.

The Blackhawks (16-10-4), however, have picked it up since a three-game losing streak with three wins in their last four, though the loss was an ugly 5-1 setback at Nashville on Thursday in which Kane recorded the lone goal.

Jonathan Toews also scored with the man advantage as Chicago bounced back Friday and Corey Crawford stopped 25 shots in his third shutout of the season.

The club also played well on the penalty kill, stopping all five of the Jets' power-play opportunities, but that story was far different in its first meeting this season with the Canucks (11-11-8), who scored three times in four chances in a 6-3 home win Nov. 21.

The win was Vancouver's third in four meetings, though the loss came with a 3-1 decision April 4 at the United Center - oddly enough the only game Kane didn't play. He had one goal and three assists in the three losses and was held off the score sheet once.

The November victory also marked a season-best goal total for Vancouver, which lost six of its next seven before picking up back-to-back wins over Buffalo and the New York Rangers this past week - though the most recent victory came at a cost.

Daniel Sedin and Alexander Edler each had a goal and an assist in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Rangers, but veteran defenseman Dan Hamhuis was hit in the face by a slap shot and will miss two months with a facial fracture.

"It's scary," coach Willie Desjardins said. "It's a hard thing to take. He'll suffer with that for a little while."

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