DETROIT — Patrick Kane became the 50th player in NHL history to reach 500 goals, scoring his second goal of the game into an empty net with 3:53 left to help the Detroit Red Wings beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Thursday night.
Kane, 37, is the fifth U.S.-born player to reach the milestone, following Mike Modano (561), Keith Tkachuk (538), Jeremy Roenick (513) and Joe Mullen (502). Brett Hull, a dual citizen who was born in Canada and played internationally for the United States, had 741 goals.
Kane opened the scoring on a two-man advantage with 29 seconds left in the first period. He snapped a shot to the short side over goalie Kevin Lankinen’s leg pad.
Kane has 1,369 points, five behind Modano for the U.S.-born mark. Left off the U.S. Olympic team, Kane has eight goals in 30 games this season. He has missed 15 games because of injuries.
“Might as well get it tonight and get it over with,” Kane said after the first period on the Red Wings’ broadcast.
Kane is the sixth player to reach 500 goals with the Red Wings, joing Gordie Howe, Dino Ciccarelli, Steve Yzerman, Pat Verbeek and Brendan Shanahan.
Selected by the Blackhawks with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, Kane played the first 16 seasons of his career in Chicago. He scored 446 goals and added 779 assists in 1,161 games with the Hawks and helped them win three Stanley Cups (2010, 2013 and 2015).