Patrick Kane may not have hit the most notable benchmark around the NHL Friday night (that distinction of course belongs to Alex Ovechkin, who equaled Wayne Gretzky's 894 career goals), but in the Red Wings ' 5–3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, Kane hit a handful of new milestones.
With his goal in Friday night's win, Kane hit 20 goals for the season for the 17th time in his career, passing Mike Modano for the most 20-goal campaigns by a U.S. born skater in NHL history. He also tied Sidney Crosby for the second most 20-goal seasons among active players (trailing only Ovechkin). It also gave Kane his 100th point as a Detroit Red Wing.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 5, 2025
After the game, Detroit coach Todd McLellan joked that the team's PR staff didn't have time to fill him in on all of Kane's accolades in the time it took to walk from the dressing room to the press room, before adding, "It's an honor to be around him and watch him play and perform, and he's still like a young kid. It's fun."
Kane himself recalled his boyhood affinity for Modano growing up in Buffalo. "He was one of my favorite players," Kane said. "The way he skated up and down the ice, his jersey flapping behind him, one of the best American players of all time, so a lot of respect for him and what he's done in this league. Obviously he broke my heart in '99 when they beat the Sabres in the Cup Finals, but I definitely remember watching him growing up and how fun he was, so explosive and scored so many highlight reel goals."
It's not 'most goals ever,' but the latest bevy of milestones offers one more reminder of Kane's excellence and his endurance.
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Liverpool do not require favours to secure the Premier League title but their neighbours gave them one anyway. Everton denied Arsenal the victory they needed to maintain extremely thin hopes of challenging the league leaders courtesy of Iliman Ndiaye’s penalty.
Leandro Trossard put Mikel Arteta’s visitors on course for a win their overall display just about deserved but a soft second-half spot-kick, awarded for a fall by Myles Lewis-Skelly into Jack Harrison, enabled Everton to secure a fifth draw in six Premier League matches. The upshot is that Arne Slot’s side need only 11 points from their final eight games to seal Liverpool’s 20th league championship. Arsenal can have no complaints over the destiny of this season’s title.
Patrick Kane has been a star in the NHL since he first stepped in the league. He always produces offensively and is continuing to do so on the Detroit Red Wings who he is in his second season with.
The impressive milestone Kane reached in the Red Wings' latest win was becoming the new record holder in the NHL for the most 20-goal seasons by a U.S. born player with 17. From age 19 to 36, he has consistently been able to put 20 pucks in the back of the net every season except one, the COVID year that restricted him to 56 games. Kane scored 15 goals and 66 points that season and was on track to hit 20 goals fairly easily.
Kane scored at least 20 goals in 13 consecutive seasons from the start of his career. The veteran is a five-time 30-goal scorer and two-time 40-goal scorer in the NHL, all coming with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Kane also happened to record his 100th point as a Red Wing in the same game he hit 20 goals in a season again. He has 40 goals as a member of Detroit, but scored 446 goals and recorded 1225 points in 1161 games as a Blackhawk and five goals and 12 points in 19 games as a member of the New York Rangers.
I think Kane isn't close to being done yet. His contract is up at the end of the season and I don't see a return to the Blackhawks, but he has fit in nicely on the Red Wings and it has enabled him to seamlessly keep putting up points.
Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) celebrates with right wing Adrian Kempe (9) and defenseman Drew Doughty after scoring against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 22. The Kings' top line has been on a scoring spree in recent games. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press)
What’s in a name? Sometimes a lot.
No one, after all, has ever given a nickname to a bunch of guys who hit .225 or a team that finished in the middle of the standings. But do something special and with flair and people start calling you Magic, The Hammer or The Great One.
Hockey was once at the forefront of this naming ritual, with the tradition of stamping memorable monikers on the sport’s most productive scoring lines dating to the 1920s and the New York Ranger threesome of Bun Cook, Frank Boucher and Bill Cook, collectively known as the “A Line” after the subway line that ran under Madison Square Garden.
The names could sometimes get creative, as with the Vancouver Canucks’ “Mattress Line,” which included two twins (Daniel and Henrik Sedin) and a king (center Jason King) and the Buffalo Sabres’ “French Connection” of French-Canadians Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert. Or sometimes ridiculous, as with the “Trio Grande Line” of Clark Gilles, Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy, which took the New York Islanders to four straight Stanley Cup titles.
Which brings us to the Kings’ current top line of left wing Andrei Kuzmenko, center Anze Kopitar and right wing Adrian Kempe. It has set no records and won no Stanley Cups; in fact, it hasn’t even clinched a playoff berth, although that will happen shortly.
But since coming together a month ago, when general manager Rob Blake acquired Kuzmenko from the Philadelphia Flyers at the trade deadline, the threesome has become one of the hottest trios in the NHL ahead of the Kings' showdown with the Edmonton Oilers at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
After getting six or more goals in a game four times in the first 60 games, the Kings did it four times in the next 13 with Kuzmenko. Scoring overall has risen nearly a goal a game and the team has lost just three times in its last 15 games, putting it on pace to open the Stanley Cup playoffs at home, where they have the best record in the Western Conference.
And that has sparked a question: what should the line be called?
“It’s not really on the front burner,” added Glen Murray, the Kings director of player development “I haven’t really thought about it a lot.”
OK, so maybe it’s not a burning question. But there are some candidates just the same.
“AK,” Kopitar said. “That’s what I’m going for.”
Kings forward Andrei Kuzmenko celebrates after scoring against the Winnipeg Jets on April 1. (Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
That one is solid because it works on two levels, using each players’ initials but also highlighting the fact they all have a strong shot.
Patrick O’Neal, who hosts the “LA Kings Live” pregame and postgame shows on FanDuel West, likes Special K. Simple but elegant.
Then there’s the “AAA Line,” inspired by each player’s first initial and the fact that, like the auto club, the line is dependable and the Kings trust it will get them where they want to go.
The odds that any of those will catch on are long since the prevalence of assigning nicknames to top NHL lines has faded in recent years, robbing the game of some of its fun. With line pairings jumbled and players traded so frequently in modern hockey, it has become difficult for fans and the media to develop an association with particular combinations. At the same time, the rise of data and analytics has shifted the focus from the collective performance of a group of players, such as a line, to the performance of individuals.
Murray, who skated on the Boston Bruins’ imposing “700-pound Line,” a name inspired by the collective weight of the three players, said the absence of nicknames doesn’t necessarily represent progress.
“It’s too bad,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with coming up for a name for a line that’s just been put together.”
Hiller believes nicknames can be useful in developing an identity and esprit de corps for young players, who are typically lacking both.But it’s not really necessary on a line centered by someone such as Kopitar, who is fourth among active players in games played.
“For some young players, maybe,” he said. “I’ve seen it when three young players get together and they have energy and stuff like that. But I’m not sure there’s too much that’s going to get Kopi going in a different direction at this stage of his career.”
In any case, it wasn’t a nickname that turned the Kings’ line around but rather the addition of Kuzmenko on the left side.
“It took a few games to kind of understand how Kuzy plays. But they're dangerous,” Murray said. “This guy is Uber talented. He can make plays all over the ice and it's fun to watch. The enthusiasm that Kuzy has for the game, it just oozes out and it goes in Kempe and Kopi.”
Into Blake as well. Rumors ahead of the trade deadline linked the Kings to a number of high-profile targets including Pittsburgh’s Rickard Rakell. Chicago’s Ryan Donato and San José’s Luke Kunin. So when Blake settled on Kuzmenko, who scored 39 goals in his rookie season with Vancouver in 2022-23 then spent the next two seasons shuffling among four teams, the news underwhelmed.
Kuzmenko, however, has overdelivered, collecting four goals and six assists in 15 games. As a result, the trade has proven to be among the most consequential in the Western Conference, reinvigorating a team that saw a season-long five-game losing streak end in Kuzmenko’s debut.
“The way he celebrates his goals, it’s like the last one he’s ever going to score,” Murray said of Kuzmenko. “It gives you a little energy, right? They know they’re going to be a threat.”
The question now is what should they be called?
“The playoffs are coming up,” Murray said. “Having this new line, coming up with a unique name for it, I think it’ll just come one day.
A fan takes a photo of a dog outside Angel Stadium before the team's home open against the Cleveland Guardians Friday. (Eric Thayer / Associated Press)
Dave Roberts was recognized wherever he went last winter: at a Chargers game, at a UCLA game, at a Palisades High baseball practice, even in Japan. He is the manager of the Dodgers, the reigning World Series champions. In three weeks, the Dodgers will distribute 40,000 Roberts bobbleheads.
Ron Washington, the manager of the Angels, went out to run some errands Thursday. As usual, he said, no one noticed.
“I have not had anyone recognize who I am out there,” he said Friday.
When might that change?
Angels and Guardians players watched a flyover before they played Friday at Angel Stadium. (Eric Thayer / Associated Press)
“When we show a consistent amount of success,” Washington said. “Right now, I’m just a regular Joe out there.”
This is the Dodgers’ world, and everyone else in baseball is just living in it.
And so it was that when the Angels threw their fans a party before the home opener Friday, I did not have to look far to find someone in a Dodgers jersey.
In fairness, the Dodgers fans I found were part of households with divided loyalties. Marie Hernandez of Los Angeles came with her son, who supported the Angels. Her gear for the day: a Dodgers World Series sweatshirt and cap.
“I’m representing the team that won,” she said. “I’m still very hopeful for the Angels.”
Manny Galvan of Pico Rivera did not much care about that. His son wore his Mike Trout jersey. Galvan wore a Dodgers jersey with Shohei Ohtani’s name.
“I always wear a Dodger jersey,” he said. “I wore Ohtani so I didn’t get booed today.”
Zuleyka Gonzalez of Riverside also wore a Dodgers jersey with Ohtani’s name. She attends Angels games regularly — sometimes in that Ohtani jersey, other times wearing Dodgers jerseys with the names of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman or Teoscar Hernández.
Her fiancé is an Angels fan. The couple agreed their child would be raised as a Dodgers fan if a boy and an Angels fan if a girl.
The Angels' Mike Trout celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Cleveland Guardians at Angel Stadium on Friday. (Eric Thayer / Associated Press)
Congratulations, Halo Nation: You have a beautiful month-old girl supporting your team, even if she does not quite know that yet. Her name is Zule.
Jered Weaver, one of the greatest pitchers in Angels history, caught the ceremonial first pitch Friday. He played high school ball in Simi Valley, where he grew up a Dodgers fan. He now lives in Thousand Oaks.
“Everybody’s on the Dodgers bandwagon out there,” Weaver said.
Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers’ closer for a decade, is the Angels’ closer this season.
“Dodger fans have been great forever,” he said. “Every time I’m walking down the street in L.A., all these great Dodgers fans keep me giving me a fist bump. They show love, and how much they care.
“Now, I’m getting all the Angels fans too. I feel like I’m a complete package now. All the Angels fans are so excited that I’m wearing the Angels uniform. I’m a complete L.A. guy. I get to play for both teams now. It’s something special.”
Jansen lives in Palos Verdes, which he is said is more Dodgers territory than Angels territory. Travis d’Arnaud, the Angels’ new backup catcher, played at Lakewood High and lives in Los Alamitos, on the Orange County edge of the border with Los Angeles County.
“There’s more Angel fans and Angel gear,” he said. “There’s still a lot of Dodgers gear, don’t get me wrong.”
I asked Jansen what message he had for Angels fans tired of hearing about the Dodgers.
“We can’t worry about that,” he said. “The Dodgers are going to be the Dodgers. We have to figure out how to be successful again. The focus of this group is to get this organization back to winning.”
I thought about that in light of the Angels' news of the morning: Anaheim mayor Ashleigh Aitken wants Angels owner Arte Moreno to restart negotiations on a deal to revitalize Angel Stadium and extend the team’s tenure there, and she wants Moreno to stop with the Los Angeles name and revert to calling his team the Anaheim Angels.
To be sure, the Angels’ fan party was overwhelmingly populated by Angels fans: many in Trout jerseys, very few in jerseys of anyone else on the roster, quite a few in jerseys of Angels greats that actually won postseason games in Anaheim, including Weaver and Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick, Garret Anderson and Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad and Troy Glaus, Rod Carew and Reggie Jackson.
Angels outfielder Mike Trout takes the field before a game against the Cleveland Guardians at Angel Stadium on Friday. (Eric Thayer / Associated Press)
Trout is 33. The last year the Angels won a postseason game was the year he graduated from high school.
There is work to be done in Anaheim. Aitken can negotiate a deal on behalf of the city, if Moreno even wants to negotiate.
If you build a better ballpark, will they come? If you build a better ballclub, will they come?
The Dodgers have done both. Fans have come. Rings have come. For the Angels, success is defined 30 miles up the freeway.
Saints are on the brink of relegation and a points nadir – an experience that still haunts the former Derby manager
For Southampton, there was the initial pain of conceding a stoppage-time equaliser at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday. Then came the niggling knot in the stomach as they faced up to keeping alive another shot at unwanted history: the possibility of becoming, statistically at least, the worst team in Premier League history.
For now that mantle belongs to Derby County, who were relegated with 11 points in 2007-08, a campaign in which they recorded a solitary win and were officially down before the clocks went forward at the end of March.
