Patrick Kane passes Phil Housley: 895 broke the U.S.-born assists record, 896 finished the night

Patrick Kane began Thursday tied with Phil Housley at 894 NHL regular-season assists. He finished with 896. Between those numbers, the Buffalo-born winger became the league's career assists leader among U.S.-born players and helped Chicago beat Winnipeg 4-3 in overtime.

The first assist put Kane ahead. Connor Bedard scored on the power play at 8:11 of the opening period, with Kane and Tyler Bertuzzi credited on the play. That was career assist No. 895 for Kane. Housley's completed regular-season record remains 894, according to the NHL's player records.

Two assists, two different landmarks

Chicago built a 3-1 first-period lead, but Winnipeg pulled even. Kyle Connor scored in the second period and Alex Iafallo tied it at 5:39 of the third. The milestone had been secured. The game still needed a winner.

Artyom Levshunov supplied it at 1:37 of overtime. Bedard received the primary assist and Kane the secondary assist, taking Kane's career total to 896. Both of Kane's assists came on plays that changed the state of the game: Chicago's opening goal and the goal that ended it.

Kane's 896 assists are part of 1,405 points in 1,377 regular-season games, with 509 goals. Those are his career figures through October 15, not totals for Chicago alone. His postseason record is separate and does not enter this comparison.

What the record counts

The record covers U.S.-born NHL players. It does not rank everyone who has played for the United States internationally, and it is not the NHL's overall assists record. Housley was a defenseman and Kane is a forward. Their different jobs resist a simple claim about who was the better player, even as the career assists count now puts Kane ahead.