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Kane scores in shootout as Blackhawks edge Red Wings

Oct 7, 2007 - 6:05 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Patrick Kane already has made an impact with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Kane scored the lone goal in the shootout after defenseman James Wisniewski and Robert Lang tallied in the third period as the Blackhawks posted a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

Drafted first overall in June, the 18-year-old did not record a point in his NHL debut as Chicago was blanked by Minnesota on Thursday. The 5-10 native of Buffalo picked up an assist in this one, but his biggest contribution will not show up in his regular statistics.

After Pavel Datsyuk hit the right goalpost on Detroit's first shootout attempt, Kane was elected to try his luck for Chicago. He made coach Denis Savard look like a genius, beating six-time Vezina Trophy winner Dominik Hasek to the glove side with a backhander for a 1-0 edge in the bonus format.

"I had been practicing that in practice," Kane said. "I usually hit the crossbar. Unbelievably, it went in. I was thinking about who was in the net, but I was thinking more about my shot."

Kane grew up watching Hasek in his prime with the Sabres.

"It's unbelievable that I scored my first goal on Hasek," Kane said. "It's not really a goal, but on Dominik Hasek, the guy I grew up watching, it's unbelievable."

Nikolai Khabibulin made the tally stand, poke-checking the puck away from Henrik Zetterberg and denying Jiri Hudler to give the Blackhawks the victory.

Chicago entered the third period staring at a 3-1 deficit. But Wisniewski received a cross-slot pass from Kevyn Adams and beat Hasek to the stick side with a sweeping shot from the inner edge of the left faceoff circle while shorthanded at 3:41, drawing the Blackhawks within a goal.

"They had been on the power play for a while," Wisniewski said. "Adams was skating up the ice and I thought I could beat their guy. He hit me on the tape. I hit a one-timer into the net. It was a great shot."

Lang, who spent the previous 2 1/2 seasons with the Red Wings before being allowed to test the free-agent market this past summer, forged a 3-3 tie with 3:40 to go. After gaining possession in the neutral zone, the Czech carried down the slot and fired a wrister that beat Hasek high to the glove side for the equalizer.

"It's strange playing against friends," Lang said. "I just tried to get the puck on net. I got a very good shot that surprised Hasek a little bit."

Tuomo Ruutu also scored and Khabibulin made 23 saves for the Blackhawks, who were without injured star Martin Havlat. The All-Star suffered a shoulder injury in Thursday's season opener and is out indefinitely.

Tomas Holmstrom and defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski netted power-play goals for Detroit, which won its season opener against Anaheim in a shootout.

The Red Wings jumped in front at 5:37 of the first period, when Rafalski beat Khabibulin with a slap shot from the top of the left circle. Lidstrom doubled the lead 99 seconds into the second with a blast from the blue line.

Ruutu halved the deficit midway through the session, receiving a pass from the left circle by Magnus Johansson and slipping the puck by Hasek from the doorstep at 9:43. But Holmstrom tipped Rafalski's shot from the left point past Khabibulin 72 seconds later to restore Detroit's two-goal cushion.

Zetterberg assisted on all three of the Red Wings' tallies.

After attending Detroit's training camp on a tryout basis before signing with Chicago, defenseman Brent Sopel recorded an assist for the Blackhawks, who lost seven of their eight meetings with the Red Wings last season.

"The whole league is better," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "The Blackhawks have been drafting high for a long time, and their draft picks have been getting older. ... Tonight, they played well and got two points."