Greg WyshynskiESPN3 Minute Read
NEW YORK — New York Rangers followers roared at any time when Patrick Kane appeared on the video board. They cheered when he was introduced within the beginning lineup. They gasped when he would stickhandle via the Ottawa Senators’ protection.
Kane appreciated these reactions on Thursday night time at Madison Square Garden, making his Rangers debut after they acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. He stated he simply needs the outcomes might have been totally different, for himself and the crew in its 5-3 loss to the Senators.
“My first recreation as a Ranger was a fairly cool expertise. Obviously, I’d’ve preferred to play slightly bit higher and are available out with the win. But hopefully it’s going to come. I have not performed in slightly bit. Maybe slightly bit rusty,” Kane stated.
It was Kane’s first recreation since Feb. 22, when he left a Blackhawks highway journey in preparation for a commerce to the Rangers, for whom he waived his no-movement clause. He performed 16 years and received three Stanley Cups in Chicago, arriving in New York with a wave of expectations and hype. Retail shops inside MSG had offered out of adult-sized Kane jerseys practically an hour earlier than puck drop.
The 34-year-old star winger did not tally a degree in 19:36 of ice time. He took 4 photographs on purpose and was on the ice for 3 Ottawa targets. Perhaps essentially the most obtrusive instance of his rust and inexperience along with his new teammates was on the ability play, the place Kane performed 5:58 of the Rangers’ 11 minutes with the person benefit. They went 0-for-4, together with a five-minute main energy play within the first interval.
“They have not given me an excessive amount of. Just telling me to go on the market and play. It’ll be good to settle in and play slightly bit higher for my teammates,” stated Kane, who stated his nerves disappeared rapidly as soon as the sport began.
Kane famous that the Rangers have a “fairly huge recreation” Saturday towards the Boston Bruins (1 p.m. ET, ABC) however then have 4 days off earlier than their subsequent recreation. He’s hoping to make use of that point to higher acclimate himself to the crew and his teammates.
That contains his former Blackhawks teammate Artemi Panarin, who starred with Kane from 2015 to ’17. The two have been reunited on the identical line towards the Senators and noticed time on the ability play collectively. Kane stated earlier than the sport that it’d take some time to rekindle the magic he had with Panarin in Chicago.
“You attempt to keep in mind your roots and all the things. It’s a chemistry we had six or seven years in the past. I do not assume that is going to occur in a single day, however we’ll discover it,” Kane stated.
Panarin and Kane have been the final two Rangers gamers in warmups. During his time with the Blackhawks, Kane was famously superstitious about being the final participant to depart the ice. But with the Rangers, it is Panarin who ritualistically leaves the ice final.
After the 2 stayed on the market for some time collectively, Kane relented and skated off the ice second to final. Panarin exited quickly after.
“Yeah, it is his crew,” Kane stated with fun. “We’ll let him have that honor.”
Kane handed a puck to his 2-year-old son, who was being held by his associate, Amanda Grahovec, and gave him a fist-bump as he left the ice. While it wasn’t a memorable night time for the Rangers, it is going to be one Kane by no means forgets.
“It’s a particular place to play. It’s an Original Six franchise. Playing in MSG and also you get a reception like that? It’s one thing I’ll always remember,” he stated.
