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Kane nets No. 400 in Blackhawks' win over Red Wings

Milestones - whether they're birthdays, anniversaries or memorable sports achievements - are meant to be celebrated.

With friends. With family. With teammates.

And - in the case of Patrick Kane ripping home his 400th career goal at the United Center during a 7-2 victory over Detroit on Sunday - with 20,000 screaming, delirious, red-and-black clad fans.

Alas, that's not the world we live in at the moment. So Kane, who scored 10:50 remaining in the third period to make it 5-1, had to settle for a celebration with teammates and coaches.

It's not ideal. But it's also not the worst thing, especially considering how close this squad has become over the last two months.

"It would be nice to have my parents here for sure, and Amanda and my son," said Kane, who became a father three months ago. "That's the way it is in this world right now. It was nice to enjoy it with my teammates. They seemed pretty excited for me. A lot of support from them."

Kane joins Bobby Hull (604), Stan Mikita (541) and Steve Larmer (406) as the only Hawks in this exclusive club.

Kane's legacy as one of the best American-born player ever is already all but assured. One of the only remaining questions is this: How high will he climb on the Hawks' all-time goals list?

"The biggest thing is once you start reaching these type of milestones - 400 goals and 1,000 games coming up - it leaves you wanting more," Kane said. "It's exciting to achieve them and nice to have these type of milestones.

"Probably means I've played a while, but you just want to keep getting better and help the team the best you can. For me that's getting the puck as much as possible, creating plays and try to create some scoring chances."

If Kane plays his entire career in Chicago, there's a distinct possibility he could pass Hull. All it would take is averaging 30 goals for the next seven seasons. Or 25 in the next 8. Or 20 for the next 10.

Of course, that means Kane would have to play until he's at least 39 and possibly until 42. And he'd have to stay relatively healthy along the way.

Not that he's thinking that far ahead.

"Well, I'm only 32, so I don't think I'm thinking about how long I want to play yet," Kane said. "Just having fun right now. Feel good. So keep it going."

The Hawks' other goals came from Ryan Carpenter (2), Nikita Zadorov, Pius Suter, Dominik Kubalik and DeBrincat. Kevin Lankinen made 44 saves in net as the Hawks improved to 12-7-4.

The Hawks led just 2-1 after two periods, but blitzed Thomas Greiss for 5 goals over a 14-minute stretch of the third. DeBrincat had 3 assists, while Kane added 2.

Kane's achievement is just one of many for a team that's now 12-7-4. The list includes first goals by Suter, Philipp Kurashev, Nicolas Beaudin, Brandon Hagel and Ian Mitchell.

Kane gets a kick out of seeing their success and growth, just as much as they love seeing him wreck the competition on a nightly basis.

"Nice to share these kind of moments with them," Kane said. "There have been a lot of great moments this year throughout our team. We have a lot of young guys that have some pretty special futures ahead of them.

"It's nice to be around those guys, joke around with them and even learn from them, too. ... It's a good group right now for sure."

A group that grew up watching Kane and learning what it takes to excel at the highest level.

"For them to be part of it - any big milestone - it's pretty special," said coach Jeremy Colliton. "They all know what he's meant to the organization and to the league, honestly. ...

"They (all) enjoy each other's success, whether it's guys getting their first goals or Kaner getting 400."

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