NHL EDGE stats behind Kane reaching 500-goal mark for Red Wings

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we identify the key advanced metrics surrounding Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane after he scored his 500th career NHL goal.

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Patrick Kane scored his 500th NHL goal on Thursday, and the Detroit Red Wings veteran continues to produce offensively and cover key advanced stats categories at 37 years old.

Kane became the fifth player born in the United States to score 500 goals in the NHL, joining Mike Modano (561), Keith Tkachuk (538), Jeremy Roenick (513) and Joe Mullen (502). A three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks (2010, 2013, 2015), Kane has remained productive since joining the Red Wings in 2023-24 with 132 points (49 goals, 83 assists) in 152 games over the past three seasons.

This season, he ranks fifth among players who are 35 years old or older in points per game (0.87; 26 in 30 games) behind Sidney Crosby (1.17), Brad Marchand (1.12), Evgeni Malkin (1.11) and John Tavares (0.91) and ahead of Alex Ovechkin (0.84). Kane’s NHL trophy case also includes the Hart (most valuable player in regular season) and Art Ross (regular-season points leader) in 2016, Conn Smythe (most valuable player in Stanley Cup Playoffs) in 2013 and Calder (rookie of the year) in 2008.

Kane, who has had two separate injury absences this season (limited to 30 of Detroit’s 45 games), returned to the lineup Dec. 28 and has been an important part of the Red Wings’ resurgence when healthy this season. Detroit, in the midst of the NHL’s second-longest postseason drought (nine seasons; behind Buffalo Sabres’ 14 seasons), ranks seventh in the NHL in points percentage (.622) and is in contention for the Atlantic Division title.

The Red Wings are 17-9-4 with Kane in the lineup this season, and, since their coaching change last season (hired Todd McLellan; his debut was Dec. 27, 2024), Detroit has the eighth-most points (112; 52-33-8) in the NHL.

Here are three underlying metrics storylines behind Kane’s continued scoring prowess in the veteran stages of his career:

1. Shots by location

Kane ranks highly among NHL forwards in long-range shots on goal (14; 94th percentile) and midrange shots on goal (34; 87th percentile) this season. The breakdown of his eight goals by location is four from high-danger zones, three from midrange and one from long range.

Last season with Detroit, Kane also ranked highly among forwards in both midrange shots on goal (57; 86th percentile) and long-range shots on goal (18; 87th) despite missing 10 games. It’s also worth noting 19 of Kane’s 21 goals last season were scored from the middle regions of the ice (nine high-danger goals plus 10 midrange goals).

2. Power-play offensive zone time percentage

The Red Wings rank sixth in the NHL this season in power-play conversion percentage (24.8). Kane has played most frequently on the first unit when healthy, usually with forwards Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider.

Another veteran forward, James van Riemsdyk, has also seen first power-play usage lately for the Red Wings; for his 499th goal Thursday, Kane scored a 5-on-3, power-play goal, assisted by Raymond and Larkin with van Riemsdyk and DeBrincat also on the ice. Van Riemsdyk has scored nine high-danger goals (90th percentile among forwards) this season, second on the Red Wings behind DeBrincat (12; 97th percentile at position).

Kane ranks in the 86th percentile among forwards in power-play offensive zone time percentage (62.1), which is the percentage of time that the puck spends in the offensive zone while the player is on the ice with the man-advantage and the game clock is running. Kane, despite missing significant time, is one of five Red Wings players with at least 10 power-play points this season (others: Raymond with 19; DeBrincat and Seider with 14 each; Larkin with 12).

3. Supporting cast

Kane has well-established chemistry with DeBrincat; the forwards frequently play on the same line at even strength and on the power play and also played together for five seasons with the Blackhawks from 2017-18 to 2021-22. DeBrincat had two 40-goal seasons with Chicago as Kane’s teammate and frequent linemate, and Kane has had assists on six of DeBrincat’s 22 goals (tied for 12th in NHL) this season.

DeBrincat ranks fifth in the entire NHL in midrange shots on goal (60) and also ranks highly among forwards in high-danger shots (47; 95th percentile), midrange goals (five; 90th percentile) and long-range shots on goal (15; 95th). The Red Wings, as a team, rank fifth in high-danger shots on goal (376) and have the third-most high-danger shots on goal by forwards (361).

Although the Red Wings have been one of the bigger surprises in the NHL this season, the fact that they are tied for the fourth-worst 5-on-5 shooting percentage (8.3) shows they have plenty of room for improvement in that category -- not drastic regression. Detroit ranks in the middle of the pack in 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (49.3; 17th) and has benefited from the acquisition of goalie John Gibson (11-2-0 with .927 save percentage in past 13 games), giving Kane and the Red Wings plenty of staying power this season.

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