CHICAGO (AP) – First, Blackhawks star Patrick Kane went crashing into the boards. Then the Bulls announced Derrick Rose was headed for another knee surgery.
And just like that, Chicago’s cold winter had taken another chilly turn.
The Windy City lost two of its biggest sports stars Tuesday night when Kane left the Blackhawks’ 3-2 shootout victory over Florida with an upper-body injury, and the Bulls said Rose had a medial meniscus tear in his right knee. It was a pair of crunching blows in a matter of minutes for two of the city’s most successful teams in recent years.
“You can’t replace Kaner. He’s a special talent, somebody who’s really irreplaceable,” Blackhawks forward Kris Versteeg said. “It’s going to have to be by committee. Guys are going to have to step up and find ways to get the job done.”
That likely will be the same message in the coming days for the Bulls, who have plenty of experience when it comes to playing without Rose. The 2011 NBA MVP appeared in only 10 games last season before he had surgery for the same injury in November 2013, shelving him the rest of the way.