When the season began, Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks had a very dark cloud hanging over him. He had been accused of rape during the off-season, and the case proceedings had weighed heavily on him as he tried to prove his innocence.

The All-Star came into the season clearly troubled by the ongoing case, but he managed to put in some good performances for his team.

On November 5, eight games into Kane’s scoring streak, the plaintiff withdrew her accusations against the NHL skater and the case ended.

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This was a controversial end to the case as Kane was never officially proven innocent; the case was merely dropped following the departure of the claimant. However, it was reported by The Chicago Tribune that the accuser’s claims were contradicted by the physical and forensic evidence.

Record Setter

Putting the whole ordeal behind him, Patrick Kane continued on his scoring rout through November and on to December 6, when he eclipsed the Chicago Blackhawks franchise record for the longest scoring streak, formerly set by Bobby Hull, back in the 1971-72 season.

The record-breaking point came with just 1:46 remaining in Chicago’s game against Winnipeg. Kane also broke the American-born point scoring streak record during the 22 games.

He will now remain in Chicago’s record books for decades to come. NHL.com calculated just how unlikely it was for the American to go on such a ruthless scoring streak:

“Throughout his career, Kane has scored in 392 of his 603 games and, all else being equal, a player who has a 65 percent chance of scoring on any given night has a 1 in 13,000 chance of scoring in 22 straight games.”

The former 1st overall draft pick, in 2007, now has a chance to break the modern NHL point streak record, held by Sidney Crosby at 25 games.

The overall NHL record for consecutive point scoring is an almost unbreakable feat. Kane would have to continue getting at least a goal or an assist in every game from Tuesday’s game against the Predators, all the way until February 9, against the Sharks.

In doing so, the record of a 51 game point streak would be broken. This record is cemented by no other than “The Great One” himself, Wayne Gretzky.

This isn’t to belittle Patrick Kane’s accomplishment, as he has done incredibly well to beat Hull’s record, which was set during a time of much higher scoring in the NHL.

Patrick Kane has scored 13 goals and 23 assists over the 22 game point streak, with four of the goals ending up being game winners for the current Stanley Cup champions.