On the Fly, theScore's NHL roundtable series, continues. We're talking Patrick Kane, unquestionably the league's best player - and perhaps the greatest to ever come out of the United States.

Is No. 88 America's No. 1?

Ian McLaren: With three games remaining for the Chicago Blackhawks, Patrick Kane is the runaway winner of the Art Ross Trophy and the only player to reach 100 points this season. His impressive performance has pushed him over the point per game mark for his career (657 points in 655 games), and raises the question as to whether he could end up as the best American-born player of all time.

In terms of total points, he's not even halfway to Mike Modano's 1,374, but, at age 27, and health permitting, should have plenty of time to make up the difference. It's Pat LaFontaine who holds the points per game advantage, however, posting a remarkable 1,013 points over the course of an injury-plagued career that lasted only 865 games.

Kane would have to continue to improve in order to push his points per game average from 1.003 to Lafontaine's 1.17, but if his career has the longevity of Modano (who averaged 0.92 points per game), he could set a new bar for total points.

There's still a long way to go, but Kane is already a three-time Stanley Cup champion, further boosting his chances of going down in history as the best U.S.-born player the game has ever seen.

Navin Vaswani: With all due respect to Mr. LaFontaine, in the end, it will be Kane.

It's always tricky to compare players from different eras, but in this case, it isn't so difficult. LaFontaine played in an era in which goals were, well, scored. Kane doesn't have that luxury.

LaFontaine became a point per game player in his fourth full season in the league, as a 21-year-old in 1987-88. He was a force through 1993, when injuries hit, but he had one more stellar season, in 1995-96, scoring 91 points in 76 games.

The difference in eras for LaFontaine and Kane is striking.

LaFontaine:

Season	Goals Per Game
1986-87	3.67
87-88	3.71
88-89	3.74
89-90	3.68
90-91	3.46
91-92	3.48
92-93	3.63
93-94	3.24
94-95	2.99
95-96	3.14

Kane:

Season	Goals Per Game
2007-08	2.78
08-09	2.91
09-10	2.84
10-11	2.79
11-12	2.73
12-13	2.72
13-14	2.74
14-15	2.73
15-16	2.71

Everything about today's NHL is different - and arguably better. The players are bigger, stronger, and faster. The goalies have all but perfected their position.

While LaFontaine was a smallish player - like Kane - and could very well have thrived - like Kane - the guy who's done it in an NHL that will probably never again average three goals a game has to get the nod.

Wherever he ends up, when all is said and done, Kane will undoubtedly be in the greatest American NHLer conversation. And he's got half a career, if not more, to go.

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NEW YORK, N.Y. - The New York Rangers have recalled defenceman Brady Skjei from Hartford of the AHL with the status of captain Ryan McDonagh uncertain. McDonagh was hit in the hand by a shot in the Rangers' win over Columbus on Monday night a...

As Joe Thornton approaches his 37th birthday, he is showing no signs of slowing down.

Through 79 games this season, the San Jose Sharks center - whose birthday comes in the offseason - has recorded 18 goals and 60 assists, ranking second in the NHL in the latter category. His elite-level performance (and beard) in what should be the late stages of his career raises the question of whether he'll continue on into his 40s in the same vein as Jaromir Jagr.

"I love the game, I love the guys. The fellowship, competing. I love everything hockey has to offer, if my body and mind allows me to play until I’m 44? You can’t predict that," he told Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

In the present, he feels fresh and able to keep rolling, thanks in large part to a change in routine suggested by Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer.

"(DeBoer) convinced me to stay away, get rest. The light turned on … it’s okay not to skate, not to work out. I’m a creature of habit. So I changed my mindset, and it definitely helped. My energy level, I feel so alive, no fatigue."

With 376 goals and 961 assists, Thornton's 1,364 career points are good for 30th on the NHL's all-time scoring list. The 1997 first overall pick and 2006 NHL MVP has won at every international level, but remains in search of a Stanley Cup win.

The Sharks are surprisingly well positioned to challenge this year after missing the playoffs last season, but should it not work out in California, Thornton would no doubt have plenty of suitors as a free agent once his contract runs out in 2017.

Six or seven additional seasons with the pick of the litter could allow him to end his career as a champion at the NHL level and become a surefire Hall of Fame entrant.

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Canada's officially going with Bill Peters.

Hockey Canada announced Tuesday that the Carolina Hurricanes' head coach will man the Canadian bench at the 2016 World Championship in Russia. He'll be joined by Dave Cameron, Mike Yeo, and Misha Donskov, who will serve as assistants.

Peters is completing his second season as Hurricanes head coach, the team a positive-possession club with a young, rebuilding roster. Peters was an assistant for Canada at last year's tournament, which Canada won, and spent three seasons as an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings before heading to Raleigh. Peters will also be an assistant coach at the World Cup of Hockey in the fall.

Hockey Canada president and CEO Tom Renney had the following to say in a statement:

This group brings experience and a continuity that will serve us well not only at worlds, but as we look toward the World Cup of Hockey in September. There's been a lot of work done over the last month by the management team to put this coaching staff into place, and more to come as we start pulling together our roster, but I'm confident with the direction and the staff as we look to defend our championship title in May.

This year's tournament will be held in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, and runs May 6-22.

Canada went undefeated last year, winning gold for the first time in eight years.

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Patrik Elias is getting a chance to finish the season on the ice.

Sidelined since Dec. 19 with a knee injury, the veteran New Jersey Devils forward will be back in the lineup for Tuesday's game against Buffalo.

PATTY's BACK! Coach Hynes confirms that Patrik Elias will return to the #NJDevils lineup tonight at The Rock! pic.twitter.com/Kiy23oQfr5

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 5, 2016

The 39-year-old has been limited to 13 games this season, with a goal and four assists to his credit.

Elias, who has appeared in 1,237 games for New Jersey over the past 20 seasons, will become an unrestricted free agent at season's end, meaning he could very well be entering his final week with the Devils.

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TORONTO - Despite their lowly place in the NHL standings, Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello says everything has gone better than expected for Toronto this season, from the promising performance of the team's youngest prospects to Mike B...

The Tampa Bay Lightning believe. They have to.

Dealt back-to-back massive injury blows to defenseman Anton Stralman and captain Steven Stamkos, the Stanley Cup finalists know they will be receiving no pity. In fact, they welcome the challenge before them.

"This is our group now," forward Alex Killorn said before Monday's loss 5-2 to the New York Islanders, writes NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "We have to win with this group. The belief is strong. It's always strong. Those guys are huge parts of our team, but we still believe in this group that we have right now."

The Lightning no doubt miss Stamkos and his 36 goals and based on Monday's performance, they're going to have to shift their mindset to their own end, according to head coach Jon Cooper.

"We didn't think about our net," Cooper said, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Joe Smith. "That's it. This had nothing to do with Ben (Bishop). This had everything to do with the quality of chances we gave up. It's too bad."

The Lightning were outshot 36-24 as the Islanders were playing with a lot more desperation, fighting for their postseason lives. Tampa Bay will look to rebound Tuesday in New York where a point against the Rangers will send the Lightning back to the playoffs for a third straight season.

The Lightning played one of their best games of the season Saturday, according to Cooper, who wondered whether the Stamkos news - he had surgery for a blood clot in his arm - made his team more focused on the task at hand. On Monday, the news might have settled in.

"It's a lesson," Cooper said.

It's been a season full of them in Tampa Bay.

"We just played the other night without (Stamkos and Stralman) and things were OK. It's tough to go on a four-game road trip and lose the first one, but there's always tomorrow."

Until the playoffs.

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The spring was made for ice hockey. That's how Henrik Lundqvist feels, at least.

The New York Rangers goaltender was feeling pretty good Monday night, after his team clinched its sixth straight playoff berth. It took 79 games, but that's life in the NHL.

"It's a great feeling, a proud feeling," a relieved Lundqvist said, according to Newsday's Steve Zipay. "We're in. It hasn't been pretty at times, at times it's been great, but playing in this league, it's a grind and it's about finding ways to win games that can go either way. We'll see who we're going to face. This is the time of year when you really want to play hockey."

Lundqvist has played a lot of playoff hockey over the last four seasons - 76 games, almost a full season's worth. But he's a man of his word.

Postseason	GP	SV%	Shutouts
2011-12	20	.931	3
2012-13	12	.934	2
2013-14	25	.927	1
2014-15	19	.928	0

While the numbers are certainly impressive, Lundqvist would be the first to say the only one that matters isn't in the above table: 16 wins. He hasn't been able to get there yet, but he did come close, winning a career-high 13 in 2013-14 when the Rangers lost in the Stanley Cup Final.

Monday's achievement was tempered with uncertainty after N.Y. captain Ryan McDonagh was hurt in his team's win, leaving the game with an apparent right hand injury after blocking a shot. He'll be re-evaluated Tuesday.

"... There is a good chance we might call somebody up," head coach Alain Vigneault said.

McDonagh plays 22:21 a night on the blue line, and his loss would be a significant one for Lundqvist and the Rangers.

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While Ottawa's Erik Karlsson and Los Angeles' Drew Doughty are the main subjects of this year's Norris Trophy debate, San Jose Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer believes Brent Burns belongs in any and every discussion regarding to the NHL's top defenseman.

"I can't understand why he's not in those conversations more for (the Norris Trophy)," DeBoer told Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News. "He's a version of (Nashville's Shea) Weber and Doughty.

"He plays well in both ends for us, plays against other team's best lines. They're big guys a lot of nights, and he brings a physical element too, which some of those guys don't. For me, he should be in that conversation all day long, and I don't understand why I don't hear his name more."

It's a sentiment shared by goalie James Reimer, who's been able to get a firsthand look at Burns' body of work since moving to California from Toronto.

"He's an animal," Reimer said after a recent win over Nashville. "He's arguably one of the best defensemen in the league right now and probably not getting the recognition he deserves."

The numbers certainly back that up, with his ranking among defensemen in brackets.

Goals	Assists	Points	Shots	TOI/GP	Corsi (5v5)
27 (1)	47 (3)	74 (2)	344 (1)	25:57 (7)	53.2

It should also be noted that Burns' 344 shots put him 104 clear of second-place Karlsson.

Over the past three seasons, the award has been given to offensive-minded players like Karlsson and Montreal's P.K. Subban. Burns is only five points behind Karlsson and certainly has the trust of his coach in his own zone. His all-around game is likely to earn him at least a top-three finish in Norris voting this season.

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