Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane still lives in Wayne Gretzky’s shadow

Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane. AP Images

With a goal and an assist in Saturday’s loss at Los Angeles, Patrick Kane has a point in 19 successive games for his Chicago Blackhawks.

It is a record for a US-born player, the old mark being 18, and this might well end up being the longest points streak of the season.

Yet the all-time league record Kane is chasing is one that might never be equalled.

In 1983/84, Wayne Gretzky appeared on the score sheet in an incredible 51 consecutive games. What is even more amazing is the amount of points he amassed during that span: 153.

That is three points per game. In comparison, Kane, ahead of Chicago’s match on Tuesday, has scored 31 points during his 19-game roll. That works out to 1.63 points per game, barely half Gretzky’s pace.

Kane might be on another plane from his peers but Gretzky was in another galaxy.

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The most points Kane has piled up during any game in his streak is four. When Gretzky was on his roll he scored eight points in a game not once but twice: versus Minnesota (back when they were the North Stars) and New Jersey. He also had a seven-point night against Winnipeg.

I grew up cheering for the Jets, and let me tell you, seven points was a pretty typical night at the office for Gretzky when he played Winnipeg. He slaughtered them, every single time.

Including the playoffs, in which his Edmonton Oilers won their first Stanley Cup, Gretzky scored 100 goals in 1983/84. Nowadays, the regular-season scoring leader might not break 100 points total.

Gretzky’s prime was the best time to be a hockey fan.

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