Connor Bedard is back, and the Blackhawks looked like a different team because of it.
Chicago rolled past the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Tuesday night at the United Center, getting two goals apiece from Roman Kantserov and Teuvo Teravainen in a win that snapped through plenty of recent baggage. The Blackhawks also finally found some traction on the power play, and Bedard’s return gave the whole lineup a jolt from the opening period on.
The biggest moment came late in the first when Chicago’s top power-play unit converted for just the second time in 15 chances this season. With Kane working the right side, he moved the puck to Bowen Byram, and Bedard slipped a touch pass to Roman Kantserov, who buried it past Sergei Murashov for a 2-1 lead at 17:50. It was Bedard’s first point of the season.
From there, Bedard kept showing up in all the ways that matter. The “Swagger Line” of Kane, Bedard, and Kantserov was buzzing all night, creating rush chances and making life difficult for Pittsburgh every time they got moving. That return mattered.
Chicago also got a clean break from recent history against the Penguins. Since 2025, Pittsburgh had absolutely owned this matchup, outscoring the Blackhawks 18-5 over the past three meetings. One of those games was a 6-2 loss last season that came shortly after Bedard returned, a night that stood out as a low point for Chicago and helped launch the Artyom Levshunov in-season skills camp, with Levshunov scratched for multiple games after that.
This time, the Blackhawks had the answers. Levshunov earned a primary assist on Kantserov’s second goal, a play that pushed Chicago ahead 3-1. By the end of the night, the Blackhawks had their second win of the season.
Kantserov has started to heat up after a rough opening stretch. Over the last two games, he’s scored three goals, and Tuesday brought another confident showing from the 22-year-old Russian winger. He scored once on the power play and also connected with Levshunov right in front of the net, adding another layer to a game that’s starting to show more than just finishing touch.
Teravainen matched him with two goals of his own, and they came at opposite ends of the night. Only 28 seconds into the game, Anton Frondell’s forecheck created the kind of chance Teravainen could finish in front.
Then, after Chicago had coughed up a 3-1 lead and was backing into its own end with less than five minutes left, the Blackhawks needed someone to take a shot and change the mood. Cole Smith got through the Penguins’ blue line, Ryan Greene fed the puck to Teravainen, and he fired from the near half boards and beat Murashov to make it 4-3 at 15:42 of the third. Tyler Bertuzzi added the empty-net goal at 19:50 to close it out.
The final score: Blackhawks 5, Penguins 3. The record now sits at 2-5-0.
In Other News...
Alex DeBrincat Just Gave Blackhawks Fans A Tough Detroit Reminder
Alex DeBrincat is staying put in Detroit, and for Blackhawks fans, that brings back a familiar name with a little extra sting. The Red Wings have agreed to a seven-year contract extension with the 28-year-old winger, a deal reportedly worth $13 million per season, locking in a player who was once one of the most productive scorers to wear a Chicago sweater.
DeBrincats NHL path has taken him from the Blackhawks to the Senators and then to Detroit in 2023, but his best-known years in the eyes of many Chicago fans still trace back to his time here. Now the Red Wings have him secured for the foreseeable future, which means the Blackhawks will keep seeing a former star from across the Central Division rather than across their own bench. [Read more 🡒]
Anton Frondell Is Giving Blackhawks Fans A New Calder Storyline
Anton Frondell has quickly become one of the more interesting early-season developments for the Blackhawks, and not just because he is producing offense as a rookie. Working primarily as the second-line center, Frondell has been the teams rookie leader in points and assists to open the 2026-2027 season, while also showing the kind of faceoff work and defensive detail that coaches tend to notice fast. For a young player, that mix has already translated into real responsibility.
Jeff Blashill has clearly been willing to lean on him, giving Frondell meaningful ice time and even penalty kill duties as his role grows. That kind of trust says plenty about where he stands in the lineup, and it has pushed him into a Calder conversation that feels more substantial than a hot start. The bigger question now is how far that confidence can carry if his all-around game keeps matching the production. [Read more 🡒]