DALLAS — As far as showcases go, Wednesday night at the American Airlines Center was a masterpiece. It was a display of how good, and bad, an audition can be.

Against the Stars, one of the handful of teams engaged in the Patrick Kane sweepstakes, Kane was brilliant. He dished out a beautiful assist to Max Domi to ignite Chicago’s comeback from down 3-0 and scored the equalizer to go on hat trick watch and set the Blackhawks up to win the game 4-3 in regulation.

Advertisement

In Kane, the Stars saw everything they’ve been craving from a top-six winger but have failed to find. A true playmaker whose injury concerns seem like a myth.

On the flip side, if Kane decides to explore leaving Chicago — he maintained after the game that no decision has been made as of Wednesday night — the Stars gave him little reason to have them on his list. The Stars fall into the buyer category by virtue of being in first place in their division and second in the conference, but if the three-time Stanley Cup champion and former Hart Trophy winner chooses to leave the only franchise he’s ever called home, Kane is not going somewhere else to merely punch a ticket to the postseason, or even just win the conference. He’s going to pursue a Stanley Cup.

The Stars showed him Wednesday night that they are not part of that discussion.

What transpired for the Stars was “unacceptable,” as Jason Robertson put it. It was rock bottom. It was the worst loss of the season, which is saying something when you consider the collapse in San Jose just a month ago and sleepwalking to a regulation loss to the Blue Jackets four days prior. None of that, and no other game this season, compares to how low the Stars’ loss to the Blackhawks was.

Chicago played the Vegas Golden Knights to a shootout the night before, winning 3-2. The Blackhawks didn’t get on the plane to head to Dallas until after midnight. On the flip side, the Stars had three days before hosting the Blackhawks and should have had the sourest of sour tastes after their dismal performance the last time they took the ice Saturday. They built a 3-0 lead — the first time in two weeks they scored three goals — and watched it flutter away.

Really, throw all circumstances aside. Bottom line is, the Stars are playing for playoff seeding while the Blackhawks are playing for Connor Bedard. If Saturday’s home loss to the Blue Jackets — another Bedard contender — was a weird late afternoon game and the second game of a back-to-back, what’s the excuse for Wednesday night?

Advertisement

None exist.

For a short while, things seemed to be falling into place. While the Stars built up a 3-0 lead, Kane was still playing well and showing Stars general manager Jim Nill how he could help the team, if he landed in Dallas.

It was the latest in what has been a torrid stretch for Kane. He’s scored a blistering 10 points, including seven goals, in his last four games. That doesn’t even count the goal taken off the sheet at the end of overtime against the Golden Knights on Tuesday, one which Domi was still laughing about Wednesday night — “I still think that was a goal! You see that replay? I don’t know, I’ve watched it 100 times. I still think it’s a goal.”

Kane was impossible to miss against the Stars. After Chicago went down 3-0, Kane found Domi from the back of the net to the slot to get the Blackhawks on the board. He scored the next two goals to make it 3-3. Even on Domi’s game-winning goal, which was unassisted, Kane was skating with him to create a two-on-one that allowed Domi to score.

“Yeah, I think so. For sure,” Kane said when asked if this was the best hockey he’s playing this season. “I think our line, in general, even if we have shifts where nothing happens, that’s OK, we stick with it. We know sooner or later, something’s going to happen and all three of us have a chance to make good plays and capitalize when we get those chances. It’s been good playing with those guys.”

In addition to looking healthy, Kane looks like he’s having fun. Staying in Chicago is still on the table but when it comes to teams vying for his services, he’s aware of the reports floating around. He knows Vegas and Dallas, his two latest victims, are teams in the mix.

Advertisement

“The last few games seem to be against teams that there are some rumors about out there,” Kane said. “But just playing the game, no matter who it’s against.”

But when it’s against the Stars, Kane always seems to have a little more fun. With two goals Wednesday, Kane has scored 32 goals against the Stars in his career, the most against any team. With three points, he upped his tally against Dallas to 76 points in his career, tied with Columbus for the most points he has against any team.

“I don’t know, they’re a tough team to play against, especially lately as they’ve gotten better,” Kane said. “I think the early years, every time you saw them on the schedule, you circled those games. It’s a fun arena to play in, too. You get Hawks fans and a lot of people come down. I don’t know, for whatever reason, I’ve had success against them.”

The history between the Stars and Kane is a long one with plenty of moments, including Kane playing his 1,000th NHL game in Dallas in 2021. Now, he delivered the Stars their worst loss of a season that had high hopes not too long ago. It’s also worth noting that the last game before the March 3 trade deadline will be the Blackhawks hosting the Stars on March 2.

All eyes are fixed on Nill. His team has lost eight of the last 10 games, staying afloat courtesy of the loser point. But in the last two games, against two of the worst teams in the league, Dallas couldn’t even muster that. The Stars scoring one power-play goal felt like a momentous occasion, given their ineptitude this month.

As Nill watched Kane dominate his team once again Wednesday night, he watched a player who remains a true playmaker and difference-maker. But as good as Kane was, Nill has another question to consider. Is a team that lost to these Blackhawks, just after losing to the Blue Jackets, really one piece away from its loftiest goals, even if that piece is a thriving version of Kane? Is this worth giving up any future assets?

For Kane, if he chooses to waive his no-move clause, is Dallas really where he wants to go? The Western Conference is wide open and, by the standings, the Stars are in position to make some noise. But as the Kane sweepstakes come to a head next week, the only noise the Stars are making is a weak whimper.

(Photo: Glenn James / NHLI via Getty Images)