Patrick Kane hasn’t been a regular face at the annual IIHF World Championship throughout his career. Mostly it’s because he’s usually on a lengthy playoff run with the Chicago Blackhawks.
This year, though, the Blackhawks failed to qualify for the post-season, so Kane decided to don the Team USA uniform and on Tuesday he broke the record for most points recorded by an American in a single tournament.
Kane registered a goal and an assist in his team’s round-robin finale against Finland, bringing his tournament totals to six goals and 11 assists.
The previous record was 16 points set by Richard Roberge way back in 1962.
With a goal and an assist tonight, @88PKane has now set the U.S. record for both points (17) and assists (11) in a single IIHF Men’s World Championship. #2018MWC pic.twitter.com/Zod0mVOBEy
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) May 15, 2018
Kane has only competed at the IIHF worlds once prior to this year, registering 10 points in seven games in 2008 following his NHL rookie season—the only other time his Blackhawks have missed the playoffs.
In addition to the points record, Kane also set a new high mark for assists by an American in a single tournament with 11. The previous record of 10 was set by Montreal Canadiens star Max Pacioretty in 2012, then tied the following year by Nashville Predators forward Craig Smith.
The United States ended up finishing second in Group B after a 6-2 loss to Finland on Tuesday, setting up a quarter-final matchup with a Czech Republic team that finished third in Group A.
“It’s not a good feeling losing,” Kane said following the loss to Finland. “It could be good for us to make sure we won’t deal with this again and stay positive. We’re a good team, we’ve had a good tournament to this point. [The Czechs] have some talents, it will be a tough game against them.”
Kane is currently tied with Finland’s Sebastian Aho for the tournament lead in points.
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