Written by Mathew McCormack at The Sports Quotient.com
The NHL has reached its midseason All-Star break, giving players, coaches, and fans some time to catch their breath and assess the state of the league at the halfway point. There have been some feel good stories (who thought the ageless Jaromir Jagr and the Florida Panthers would be this good?) and some…well, not so surprising developments (those pesky squads from Chicago and Los Angeles find themselves atop the Western Conference, again).
This season has so far provided many exciting individual performances. From theJamie Benn and Tyler Seguin show out in Dallas to Alex Ovechkin’s 500th goal and continual dominance in Washington, there has been no shortage of excitement and individual excellence.
Let’s take a look at some of this season’s very best performances through the first half.
Hart: Patrick Kane
Despite some of the very impressive numbers that players have put up this season, Patrick Kane’s play stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Before the season even started, Kane found himself in the midst of a rape investigation. Despite his off-the-ice indiscretions, however, Kane’s stellar season has demonstrated that he thrives on controversy.
Kane has managed to almost single-handedly propel the Blackhawks to the top spot in the Western Conference. His 30 goals have already tied a career high, while his 73 overall points are only 15 away from another career high.
His 26-game point streak was the longest ever for an American hockey player and included many highlight reel goals such as the one above.
Kane also has the chance to make even more history. He currently leads the entire league in both goals and assists (47). If he can stay in the lead in both of these categories, he will only be the seventh player in NHL history to lead the league to do so in the same season, and the first since Mario Lemieux during the 1995-‘96 season.
This feat would just be icing on the cake for one of the greatest offensive seasons in recent memory.
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