It took him until his third game but Patrick Kane scored his first goal with the Rangers on Thursday night.
The goal came at 14:31 of the second period with the Rangers down 3-2 to the Montreal Canadiens. While the Blueshirts were on the power play, Jacob Trouba passed it across the ice to Kane who skated forward to the left faceoff circle before unleashing a shot to the top corner and past goalie Sam Montembeault.
Kane’s first Rangers goal came at a crucial time for New York, as just minutes before, the veteran fumbled a pass that allowed Montreal to pick up a short-handed goal.
Thursday night’s goal was the 17th of Kane’s season and the 447th of his 16-year career.
The Rangers acquired Kane from the Chicago Blackhawks back on Feb. 28. In exchange, New York sent a conditional second-round draft pick and fourth-round pick in 2023 to Chicago.
In his first two games with the Rangers, the future Hall of Famer was a -4 on the ice. It was apparent that Kane needed to get used to his new teammates and that he and the rest of the Rangers were trying too hard to get good shots.
“Obviously, I would’ve loved to have played a little better and come away with a win,” Kane said after his Rangers debut. “Excited to be here and get better and play better for my teammates.”
He added, “Maybe we were looking to pass too much to start, but had a couple good looks along the way.”
Hopefully for Kane and the Rangers, getting on the board for the first time will lead to many more.
