Detroit currently is tied with Montreal for first place in the NHL’s Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference with 56 points (the Habs do have a game in hand on the Wings). Detroit’s team success thus far can be traced to the individual accomplishments of its players. The most recent of these achievements were reached by forwards Patrick Kane and Lucas Raymond.
Kane scored two goals against Vancouver, the second of which was the 500th of his Hall of Fame career. With this goal, Kane became just the 50th player in NHL history to accomplish this feat, and only the 5th US-born player. He is now the second-leading American-born scorer with 1,369 points, sitting just five back of Mike Modano for this record. Modano had 561 goals in his career, so it remains to be seen whether he will pass this marker. Kane has tallied eight goals this season.
Although Kane’s career goal mark was the main story of the night, Raymond achieved a milestone of his own on Thursday. Raymond notched the 300th point of his career with an assist, then added an even-strength goal later in the contest. Raymond became the third-youngest Red Wing to reach this mark, trailing only Steve Yzerman and Marcel Dionne. Also, he leads the team in scoring this season with 47 points.