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Blackhawks tease good injury news for Kane

Patrick Kane

Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) smiles after scoring against the Dallas Stars during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Chicago, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

AP

Patrick Kane might return from his broken clavicle far earlier than expected, but note that nothing is official.

(Yeah, chances are we just got Chicago Blackhawks hopes up anyway right there. Sorry about that.)

Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville didn’t outright say that Kane is ahead of schedule, but it was hard not to read some serious optimism in his comments to the Chicago Sun-Times.

“There’s been some excellent progress,” Quenneville said. “It could be good news. We’ll see.”

The original outlook had the 26-year-old’s absence pegged until about halfway through May, but perhaps it will be quite a bit shorter. He’s now five weeks into his rehab, spending quite a few days skating (including some time in full equipment).

Quenneville said it ultimately comes down to getting the doctor’s OK.

“You watch him today, he does everything you’d want him to do, or that he wants to do,” Quenneville said. “So I guess now we’ll just listen [for him to be] medically cleared. I would feel he’d be ready to go soon as he gets clearance. That’s what we’re waiting for.”

There are about two weeks remaining in the regular season, so there’s plenty of time for good news to come (or not). Naturally, the Blackhawks still have some work to do without Kane, including tonight’s NBCSN contest vs. the Los Angeles Kings.

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For what it’s worth, Quenneville said he expected the timetable to remain the same just a few days ago.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins