RECAP: Blackhawks Earn First Win of Season in Home Opener

The Blackhawks earned their first win of the 2026-27 season Tuesday night, defeating the St. Louis Blues, 4-2, in the club's 100th home opener in franchise history at United Center.

Chicago erased a 1-0 deficit with a pair of second-period goals from Sam Rinzel and Anton Frondell before Cole Smith and Frank Nazar added empty-net tallies late in the third to secure the victory.

Read on for a breakdown of the key moments from the night.

🚨 Frondell records a goal and assist in his second consecutive two-point performance

💥 Rinzel scores his first goal of the season and his first career power-play goal

🥅 Knight turns aside 24 shots to earn first win of the season and 25th as a Blackhawk

FRONDELL FINDS THE NET

Anton Frondell continued his early-season production Tuesday night, recording a goal and an assist for his second consecutive multi-point performance.

With the game tied at 1-1 in the second period, Frondell finished a setup from Artyom Levshunov at 7:40 to put Chicago ahead. Frondell later added an assist on Frank Nazar's empty-net goal with four seconds remaining.

The goal marked Frondell's first of the season and fourth of his NHL career. After recording two assists Saturday in Buffalo, the 19-year old now has four points (1G, 3A) over his last two games. Frondell led all Blackhawks rookies with 0.75 points per game last season, recording nine points (3G, 6A) in 12 games.

RINZEL CAPITALIZES ON THE POWER PLAY

Sam Rinzel helped Chicago erase a first-period deficit with his first goal of the season early in the second.

With the Blackhawks on the power play, Rinzel found the back of the net at 5:40 off assists from Frank Nazar and Nick Lardis to tie the game at 1-1. The tally was Chicago's first power-play goal of the season after the club entered the nhight 0-for-7 with the man advantage.

Rinzel's goal was the fifth of his NHL career after the defenseman led Blackhawks rookie blueliners with four goals during the 2025-26 campaign.

KANE RETURNS TO UNITED CENTER

Patrick Kane took the ice at United Center in a Blackhawks sweater for the first time in more than three years on Tuesday night.

The game marked Kane's first home appearance with Chicago since Feb. 21, 2023, a span of 1,324 days. Since returning to the organization this offseason, Kane scored in his first game back with the Blackhawks on Sept. 29 in Vegas before making his return to Chicago for Tuesday's home opener.

Kane spent his first 16 NHL season with the Blackhawks and entered the night ranked second in franchise history in assists (779) and points (1,226), while ranking third in goals (447) and games (1,164).

POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY

• Patrick Kane
• Sam Rinzel
• Spencer Knight
• Head Coach Jeff Blashill

ALL THE STATS

• Game Summary
• Full Box Score

NEXT UP

The Blackhawks head back on the road Thursday, Oct. 8, when they take on the New York Islanders at UBS Arena at 6:30 p.m. CT.