THREE THINGS: Kane Hits 400, Two for 22 and Lights-Out Lankinen

The Blackhawks moved back into the win column with a statement -- and a little bit of history -- on Sunday night at the United Center, taking a 7-2 win over Detroit in front of a national TV audience.
Patrick Kane scored his 400th career goal in the third period, one of a season-high seven Blackhawks tallies on the night. Ryan Carpenter potted two of his own, while Nikita Zadorov, Pius Suter, Dominik Kubalik and Alex DeBrincat all added goals of their own. DeBrincat led the team in scoring with three assists as well in the contest and Kevin Lankinen stopped a season-high 44 shots in his ninth win of the year.

"I don't think it was a perfect game by any means," head coach Jeremy Colliton said after the game. "We did what we had to do and then when we finally broke through, it seemed like we relaxed a little bit and started making a few more plays, execution went up.
"Great to see Kaner get his goal there. Everyone was really happy for him and I think our team got a little boost there. It seemed like we really loosened up after that and started to get some goals."

Here are three takeaways from the win at home:

KANE HITS 400

The fourth all-time Blackhawk. The 10th active NHL player. The 100th NHL player all-time. The ninth American-born player -- fifth fastest among that group.
Those are the places in league history Kane took hold of as he notched his 400th career goal on Sunday night.
"When I was getting towards the top of the circles, I could see that he was going to try and slide," Kane nonchalantly described of his goal, a fantastic individual effort on a 2-on-1. "So just slowed up and tried to make a move and hit my spot with my shot and nice to see it go in."

But his teammates and coaches knew how much the moment meant for Kane sitting at 399 coming into the night, and the prime chance he had on the 2-on-1 with DeBrincat wasn't going to go to waste.
"We all knew the situation. I think there were some guys yelling 'Shoot it' from the bench when he's on the 2-on-1 there," Colliton said laughingly. "It wasn't like the puck banked in on his leg there either, it was a pretty special goal."
"He had a pretty clear 2-on-1 and just in my head, I was like 'There's no way he's passing this puck,'" Carpenter said of the moment. "And you saw how the guy slides and he just buys all kinds of time and it was just such an elite play to make that. You know when he's got that goal on his mind it's amazing just how he created that much time for himself and he wasn't going to miss."
Milestones, big or small, are nearly a monthly occurrence for the future Hall of Famer, continually working his way up the Blackhawks, American-born and NHL lists. With goal number 400 on Sunday and being just four games away from hitting 1,000 games played, it's a continuing reflection of the amazing career he's already had and a motivating factor for a player who is still playing at the height of his game.
"The biggest thing is once you start reaching these type of milestones, 400 goals and 1,000 games coming up, it leaves you wanting more," he said. "It's exciting to achieve them and nice to have these type of milestones. It probably means I've played awhile, but I just think you want to keep getting better."

TWO FOR 22

Kane's goal was the second historical tally to come on the night when he made it a 5-1 game in the third, but just 2:04 prior, Ryan Carpenter made a little history of his own with his second goal of the game. It marked the first time he's scored twice in a single NHL game in his 216th outing.
"Maybe the American League, not in the NHL," he said trying to recall his last two-goal game at any level. "It feels good anytime you score in general and helping the team."
Carpenter was quick to redirect the attention back to the other goal milestone on the night, one he and the rest of his teammates were ecstatic to see.
"Really tonight was all about 'Kaner' and him getting that goal and a big two points."

LIGHTS-OUT LANKINEN

While the offense exploded in the third, it was a one-goal game for the majority of the opening 40 minutes and Lankinen stood tall in goal for Chicago, posting a career-high 44 saves on the night overall in the victory, including a 20-save opening period.
The rookie netminder earned his sixth win on the month (6-2-1 in February), the second most victories by an NHL goalie in that span.
"He was solid," Colliton said. "He made some good saves. I don't think they had a ton of Grade-As but that's a lot of pucks going to the net and when pucks go to the net, they've got a chance to go in. He didn't make anything into more than it needed to be. He was sharp and compact and gave us what we needed tonight."