Patrick Kane’s first regular-season home game back at the United Center gave the Blackhawks a night they won’t forget - and, more importantly, a result they badly needed.
Chicago beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Tuesday to pick up its first win of the season and move on from an 0-3 start. The club honored Kane, the three-time Stanley Cup champion, before the game, but the night ended with a different kind of spotlight: a group of younger Blackhawks stepping forward and helping deliver the victory.
The game turned after Chicago fell behind 1-0 when Mason McTavish scored late in the opening period. In the second, the Blackhawks grabbed control fast.
Sam Rinzel tied it with a power-play goal at 5:40, then Anton Frondell put Chicago in front exactly two minutes later. Artyom Levshunov made the setup look easy with a slick backhand pass before Frondell finished the play.
Frank Nazar later added an empty-net goal to seal it.
That sequence fit the night almost perfectly for Chicago. Kane’s return carried the emotional weight, but the Blackhawks are not trying to relive the glory years of 2010, 2013 or 2015.
They need players like Nazar, Frondell, Rinzel and Levshunov to build what comes next. Tuesday gave them a promising example of that future.
Spencer Knight also had plenty to do with the outcome. He stopped 26 of 28 shots and came up with one of his biggest saves on Pavel Buchnevich during a second-period breakaway.
St. Louis finished with a 28-21 edge in shots and kept pressing late.
Cole Smith scored a shorthanded empty-net goal with 1:09 left, and Connor McMichael responded for St. Louis 31 seconds later.
Nazar put the final stamp on it with four seconds remaining.
The one real concern for Chicago came when Teuvo Teravainen left with an apparent ankle injury and did not return.
Still, the Blackhawks had the kind of night they were hoping for. Kane was back.
The building felt alive again. And the players expected to carry Chicago into its next chapter delivered its first win.
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Blackhawks Young Core Delivered On Patrick Kanes Big Night
Patrick Kanes first trip back to the United Center since February 2023 gave the Blackhawks a marquee backdrop for their home opener on Oct. 6, and the building had the feel of a night built around both memory and momentum. Chicago handled the St. Louis Blues 4-2, with the young core delivering enough timely energy to make the evening about more than just the former franchise stars return.
Sam Rinzel and Anton Frondell were among the names that stood out in a game where the Blackhawks kept leaning on their emerging pieces in key spots. Rinzel helped spark the response on a second-unit power play, and Frondell followed soon after on a setup from Artyom Levshunov, a sequence that underscored why this roster is so closely tied to what happens next rather than what happened in the past. [Read more 🡒]
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The response carried extra weight because the Blackhawks had to chase the game after falling behind early, then steadied themselves and kept pushing until the outcome was secure. Even so, the mood around the win was tempered when coach Jeff Blashill said Teuvo Teravainen left with an injury and will not travel for the next game, leaving a spotlight on a victory that came with at least one fresh concern attached. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Win Showed Exactly What This Young Core Still Lacks
The Blackhawks got a useful home win over the Blues, 4-2, and it came with the kind of fingerprints this season keeps pointing toward. Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov and Anton Frondell were among the young players helping drive the night, while Spencer Knight steadied things in goal with 26 saves as Chicago found a way to finish off a divisional opponent at home.
Even so, the game also laid bare the sort of rough edges that still follow this group around. Chicago had defensive lapses along the way and now has a difficult stretch coming up, which makes the margin for error feel a little thinner despite the points in the standings. The talent is showing up more often, but the Blackhawks are still searching for the cleaner, more complete performance that turns flashes into something sustainable. [Read more 🡒]