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After skating at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday morning, Patrick Kane would have loved to play his first game for the Detroit Red Wings at night against the New York Rangers.

Six months removed from an invasive operation only two other NHL players have come back from, though, Kane will give his surgically repaired right hip a little more time.

After signing a prorated $2.75 million contract for the rest of the season with the Red Wings, a more realistic possibility for his debut is Tuesday in his hometown of Buffalo against the Sabres — one of the several interested teams Kane had to choose from. Home games against San Jose on Dec. 7 and Ottawa on Dec. 9 are also candidates.

“We’ll just take it day-to-day and keep getting better every day and then make a decision,” Kane said on a video call with reporters Wednesday. “Get me up to speed, a few practices with the team, work on a few things in the gym and don’t really rush into it.”

The 35-year-old winger is roughly six months removed from having hip resurfacing surgery. Kane said doctors cleared him for contact two months ago.

He feels significantly better than the last time he played: Game 7 of the Rangers’ first-round series at New Jersey on May 1. Lateral movement is back after the nagging hip injury hampered him for quite some time.

“I’m in a good spot,” Kane said. “The hip feels good and everything like that. So now I think we’re just kind of easing into it and making sure I’m ready to go instead of just kind of throwing me into the fire.”

A three-time Stanley Cup champion and 2016 NHL MVP with Chicago, Kane said former Blackhawks teammate Alex DeBrincat being with Detroit factored into his decision, along with the popularity of the sport in the place known as “Hockeytown.”

“Just the chemistry we’ve had on the ice the last couple of years in Chicago there, [and] he’s become one of my better friends around the league off the ice,” Kane said of DeBrincat. “I really like kind of where they’re going as far as the team, and they’re really building something that I think is going to have a lot of success here, so I’d like to be part of that.”

Coach Derek Lalonde told reporters in New York that Kane could get a look on a line with DeBrincat and possibly captain Dylan Larkin.

“Like any player, we want to put him in the best opportunity to be successful in his skill set,” Lalonde said. “I think we’d foresee him with some pretty good forwards.”

Kane is attempting to follow Ed Jovanovski and Nicklas Backstrom back to the NHL from hip resurfacing surgery, which involves dislocating the upper end of the thigh bone, trimming it, capping it and removing cartilage before putting it back in place. He said his love and passion for hockey made up his mind to attempt a comeback rather than call it a career.

“I feel like I have a lot left to give,” Kane said. “I still feel good as far as how I feel on the ice and my conditioning, and I don’t feel like I’m getting old or anything like that in that regard. I didn’t want it to be the reason I had to stop playing.”

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Knights score with 0.4 left to stun Oilers in Game 3

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Knights score with 0.4 left to stun Oilers in Game 3

EDMONTON, Alberta — Reilly Smith scored with 0.4 seconds left on a shot that deflected in off Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl‘s stick to give the Vegas Golden Knights a stunning 4-3 victory in Game 3 on Saturday night.

Smith’s goal is tied for the latest game winner in regulation in Stanley Cup playoffs history along with Nazem Kadri‘s goal for the Colorado Avalanche in 2020 and Jussi Jokinen’s goal for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2009, according to ESPN Research.

“Honestly, I’ve seen [Vegas forward William Karlsson] use that play a few times where he forechecks and spins it out in front of the net, jumping off the bench,” Smith said when asked about the play. “I think there was around seven seconds. I just tried. And being first on it. … So I thought there was a chance. And once it popped out I saw a lot of guys sell out. So I just hope that I had enough time to kind of pump-fake and find a lane and, you know, worked out.”

The game-winning goal came after Oilers star Connor McDavid tied it with 3:02 to go with a centering pass that went in off defender Brayden McNabb‘s skate.

“We didn’t sort it out very well to let the puck get into the slot. After that, it’s unlucky, it’s unfortunate,” Draisaitl said of the game-winning goal. “It goes off my stick, and I’m just trying to keep it out of the net. It’s just a bad bounce.”

After Corey Perry gave Edmonton an early 2-0 lead, Nicolas Roy and Smith tied it with goals in a 54-second span late in the first period. Karlsson put the Golden Knights in front with 2:55 left in the second, beating goalie Stuart Skinner off a give-and-go play with Noah Hanifin. And Adin Hill made 17 saves for Vegas.

The Golden Knights’ win Saturday cut Edmonton’s lead to 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinal series. Game 4 is Monday night in Edmonton.

“Before the series starts, if you were to tell us that we were gonna be up 2-1 after three, we’d be happy,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We’d be pleased with that, not only up 2-1, but Game 4 at home.”

Vegas rallied in the first period after Golden Knights forward Mark Stone left because of an upper-body injury.

“Big win for our team,” Smith said. “We need to use the momentum in front of us to push forward, but focus one game at a time. That’s kind of always been the mindset for this group. We have a lot of resiliency. So as long as you focus on that next game and get a little bit better every night.”

Roy, playing a day after being fined but not suspended for cross-checking Trent Frederic in the face in overtime in Game 2, cut it to 2-1 off a rebound with 4:43 left in the first. Smith then slipped a backhander through Skinner’s legs with 3:49 to go in the period.

Skinner stopped 20 shots, taking over in goal for the injured Calvin Pickard. Pickard appeared uncomfortable and was seen shaking out his left leg after Vegas forward Tomas Hertl landed on his left pad in Game 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Astros’ Altuve removed due to hamstring issue

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Astros' Altuve removed due to hamstring issue

HOUSTON — Astros left fielder Jose Altuve left Saturday night’s 13-9 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning with right hamstring tightness.

Altuve was replaced by pinch-hitter Brendan Rodgers with one out in the third inning and Houston trailing 12-1.

He walked with one out in the first inning and scored on a single by Yainer Diaz with two outs.

“It’s just kind of sore, the hamstring, so we’re going to re-evaluate him and we’re going to see how he feels,” manager Joe Espada said.

Espada added that Altuve told him that his hamstring was feeling tight after he scored in the first inning.

Altuve, 35, is hitting .259 with four home runs and 14 RBIs this season.

Altuve has played mostly left field this season but was in the lineup at second base Saturday night.

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Trout progressing, aims to start running soon

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Trout progressing, aims to start running soon

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout intends to resume running next week as the Los Angeles Angels slugger ramps up his recovery from a bone bruise in his left knee.

The 33-year-old Trout confirmed Saturday that he won’t be back in the Halos’ lineup when he is immediately eligible to come off the injured list Sunday, but the three-time AL MVP remains confident he won’t miss an extended period of time with his latest injury.

Trout swung a bat in the cage for the third straight day, and he hopes to test his knee with some running when the Angels travel for a series in San Diego to begin next week, calling it “a good possibility.”

“It’s been great,” Trout said. “I was worried in the beginning, but the sharpness [of pain] I was feeling after that day in Seattle is gone.”

Trout hasn’t played since April 30, when he left the game against the Mariners with knee soreness which was eventually diagnosed as a bone bruise. He had two operations last year on the knee after tearing his meniscus.

After playing in all of the Angels’ first 29 games this season, Trout missed his ninth consecutive game Saturday night when Los Angeles hosted the Baltimore Orioles.

Trout has missed 387 of the Angels’ 646 games — almost 60% — since May 17, 2021, when he tore his calf muscle and was sidelined for the rest of that season.

He missed five weeks of the 2022 season with a back injury, and he missed half of the 2023 season after his hand was broken by a pitch. He missed all but 29 games last season, not even making it out of April healthy.

Trout’s current injury does not appear to be anywhere close to season-ending — and for a superstar whose ascent has been derailed by five years of injuries, that’s a huge relief.

“I don’t have a day [for a return], but I feel great,” Trout said. “I feel good. Talking to the doctors, it’s kind of like a scab kind of thing. We’re just adding exercises each and every day, and [continuing] if it’s feeling good … but [there’s] no soreness, so we’ll keep progressing like that.”

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