Patrick Kane Injured, Could Be Out A Long While

If you're a Chicago sports fan, you are not reading this, because there's no way you're getting out of bed today. On the same night the city realized that Derrick Rose will never ever be the same again, Blackhawks star Patrick Kane went down with an injury that could reportedly keep him out deep into the playoffs.

Kane, the NHL's scoring co-leader, went hard into the boards after being checked by Florida's Alex Petrovic. Dirty play? It's going to be near-impossible to separate the action from the result. "You get ticked off when the best player in the league gets hit like that," Kris Versteeg said. But, you decide:

Kane skated off favoring his left side and did not return. The Blackhawks were not forthcoming with information, calling it an upper-body injury.

There are reports. The Tribune's Chris Kuc says the word is a broken collarbone. The Sun-Times's Mark Lazerus, too, says it's Kane's clavicle. Sportsnet's Elliotte Freidman heard "shoulder/collarbone," and that "it doesn't look good."

CSN Chicago's source says Kane could miss at least a month. The Tribune's source is more specific and more dire: Kane may be out "more than six weeks and possibly 10-plus weeks." That would be very bad for Chicago; the playoffs begin in seven weeks.

The Blackhawks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout win, but that's small potatoes. They currently sit an uncomfortable third in the Central, within striking distance of St. Louis but not well clear of Winnipeg. The Hawks could try to make a move for a scorer before Monday afternoon's trade deadline, but no one's about to replace Kane.

Meanwhile, Chicago PD has a black site and no one knows where Ernie Banks's body is or where his money went. Just give up, Chicago.