Patrick Kane has struggled to find the back of the net since the start of the season. He begins to complain about his personal performance, despite getting many chances to score.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ No. 88 has scored just five goals in 32 games so far. Last Wednesday, the American fired nine shots into the net without scoring a point in a 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators.
“It’s just difficult when you play so well and you don’t manage to produce anything. There are certain situations where I may have rushed my shots. I hit a crossbar with my backhand, then the two-on-one with Max [Domi] gave me the puck, I should have shot better,” the 34-year-old told the Chicago Sun-Times.
He managed to make just 4.2% of his shots this season while his career average is 11%. Kane struggles to explain why nothing is working for him this year.
“In the last 10 or 15 games I’m starting to find my game a little bit better,” he added. My goal record is low. This is probably one of the main reasons why the team is in the situation it is in. If I could find a way to start production at a normal pace it would help the team take off.
heavy burden to bear
Keep in mind that the Blackhawks sat bottom in the National Hockey League standings during the holiday break with a meager 20-point harvest and just eight wins. Hawks head coach Luke Richardson noted that Kane was “unfairly” bearing this burden of the team’s struggles.
“He’s hard on himself,” Richardson said. He seems to want to hide it, but I know he’s frustrated. He expects the best of himself so we don’t have to push him on that front.”