There are 13 games on the NHL schedule Thursday and one individual’s regular-season debut will be on the collective mind of hockey fans.
Likely future first-ballot Hockey Hall of Famer Patrick Kane is set to play in his first game as a member of the Detroit Red Wings when they host the San Jose Sharks.
Kane has been practising with his new team the past week after signing a one-year contract with the Original Six franchise in late November.
The 35-year-old is coming off his least productive NHL season in 2022-23 when he posted 21 goals and 36 assists split between the Blackhawks and Rangers after Kane was traded to New York ahead of last season’s trade deadline.
Not only is Kane returning to NHL ice for the first time in more than seven months after undergoing off-season hip-resurfacing surgery, but he’s also reuniting with his former Chicago teammate and linemate Alex DeBrincat.
“His hockey IQ is pretty high, above a lot of other people,” DeBrincat said of Kane earlier this week via The Associated Press. “The way he's able to slow the game down and make the game come to him, he's obviously a guy the other team is worried about and is focused on.”
Kane is expected to skate on a line with DeBrincat and Joe Veleno.
The first-overall selection from the 2007 NHL Draft has 451 goals and 786 assists in 1,180 career regular-season games. Thirty-eight of his 1,237 career points have come when playing the Sharks. Kane has 12 goals and 26 assists in 47 career games facing San Jose.
Here are Kane’s Thursday prop lines vs. SJS:
Anytime goal: +150
Points: Over 0.5 (-200) | Under 0.5 (+150)
Assists: Over 0.5 (+100) | Under 0.5 (-140)
Shots: Over 2.5 (-175) | Under 2.5 (+125)
Power-play points: Over 0.5 (+165) | Under 0.5 (-230)
Two goals or more: +1000 | Hat trick or more: +6500
As Adam Vignan points out in his analytical breakdown of Kane’s reunion with DeBrincat, the Blackhawks outscored opponents 115-106 when Kane and DeBrincat were on the ice together in 5-on-5 situations. Chicago outscored opponents at 5-on-5 when the two forwards skated together despite being out chanced 907-767 overall in the five years they were teammates from 2017-18 to 2021-22.
Will Detroit get similar results over the remainder of 2023-24?
DeBrincat leads the Red Wings in goals entering Thursday’s action with 13, however, the winger has slowed down significantly since potting nine goals on 23 shots in his first seven appearances of the season. Turns out a 39.1 shooting percentage wasn’t sustainable since DeBrincat has four goals, 11 assists and 56 shots in the 17 games since.
Here are DeBrincat’s Thursday prop lines vs. SJS:
Anytime goal: +135
Points: Over 0.5 (-210) | Under 0.5 (+155)
Assists: Over 0.5 (+120) | Under 0.5 (-160)
Shots: Over 2.5 (-190) | Under 2.5 (+140)
Power-play points: Over 0.5 (+160) | Under 0.5 (-220)
Two goals or more: +850 | Hat trick or more: +5000
DeBrincat has four goals, 12 assists and 36 shots in 14 career games against the Sharks.
Detroit has won three in a row and can leapfrog the Panthers for second place in the Atlantic Division if they win their game in hand.
The Red Wings are hefty -305 moneyline favourites over the lowly Sharks and -120 chalk on the -1.5 puckline, so oddsmakers are expecting Detroit to have their way with the 2-11-0 road team.
(Betting odds above via Bet365 as of Thursday and subject to change)
