Blackhawks hold off Blues for 1st win of season in Kane homecoming

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks made Patrick Kane’s homecoming a successful one, defeating the St. Louis Blues 4-2 at the United Center on Tuesday for their first win of the season.

The 37-year-old forward signed a two-year, $16 million contract ($8 million average annual value) on July 23 to return to Chicago, where he played his first 16 NHL seasons, including winning the Stanley Cup three times.

Kane had two shots on goal in 20:55 of ice time to help the Blackhawks win their home opener after starting the season with three losses. Kane received a raucous ovation when the Blackhawks honored him with a video tribute during pregame introductions.

“It was special,” he said. “Obviously a lot of buildup to the night. Coming out for warmups, hearing the cheer, and then getting ready to go out for the introduction was definitely a little emotional. You're skating off the ice and it's surreal, because didn't know if you'd have that chance to do it again. So it's pretty special.”

Anton Frondell and Frank Nazar each had a goal and an assist, and Spencer Knight made 26 saves for the Blackhawks (1-3-0).

“It's a good home opener, great crowd, and I mean it's really cool having Patrick Kane back here, how much it means to the city, to the fan base in general, this organization,” Knight said. “What's so cool about having him around is that in the locker room and … all that, he's just a normal guy. Really easygoing, nice to everyone. You see how much he's accomplished, and it's pretty cool.”

Connor McMichael had a goal and an assist, and Joel Hofer made 17 saves for the Blues (1-2-0), who have lost two in a row.

“We want that win,” said Blues forward Dylan Holloway. “We need those two points. We knew they were going to come out hot. It was obviously a pretty big game for them with ‘Kaner’s’ comeback. It was pretty cool. We wanted to squash that early. I think we did. We just kind of let them claw back into it. Once they got the momentum back it was just too little too late for us to come back.”

Mason McTavish put the Blues ahead 1-0 at 15:38 of the first period. McMichael picked up the puck in the neutral zone after a giveaway by Chicago’s Nick Lardis, carried the puck into the offensive zone and backhanded a pass to McTavish, who put a wrist shot past Knight’s glove from the slot.

“I kind of saw his (Lardis’) eyes looking middle, and I was able to just jump on it,” McMichael said. “I saw (McTavish) coming late. It was a really good shot by him and a really well-place shot. Happy it went in.”

An apparent goal by McMichael at 1:05 of the second period was overturned on video review after the Blackhawks challenged the play for offside.

“That was one of three offsides we had,” said Blues coach Jim Montgomery. “There were another two that were missed. Robert Thomas had a wrist shot that the goalie made a good save – blocker, stick save on in the second. That was offside, too. We’ve got to be more disciplined at the line and be able to play the right way. That’s a big part of the game, staying onside.” 

Sam Rinzel tied the game 1-1 on the power play at 5:40. Nazar moved in from the right side and put the puck on Hofer. The defenseman swept in and scored on the rebound.

Frondell put Chicago ahead 2-1 at 7:40. Defenseman Artyom Levshunov took the puck at the right point, weaved through the slot and made a backhand pass to Frondell, who scored from the bottom of the right face-off circle.

Cole Smith's empty-net goal while the Blackhawks were short-handed made it 3-1 at 18:51 of the third period.

McMichael scored on a 6-on-4 power play for the Blues at 19:22 to make it 3-2. Nazar's scored an empty-net goal at 19:56 for the 4-2 final. 

“I though the first and third were great,” McMichael said. “We were playing our game. We were dictating play. But we kind of fell asleep there in the second. I don’t really know exactly where to pinpoint that. But it obviously wasn’t a good enough job in the second. We let the game slip away. It was just too much to come back from.”

NOTES: Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen did not come out for the third period after sustaining an apparent lower-body injury in the second. Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said Teravainen will not travel with the team for its game at the New York Islanders on Thursday and that the team would know more “in the next couple of days.” … Blues defenseman Colton Parayko played in his 803rd career NHL game, all with the Blues. That matched Barret Jackman for the most in franchise history among defensemen and 2nd overall (Bernie Federko, 927). … Blackhawks defenseman Bowen Byram returned to the lineup after missing the 4-3 loss at Buffalo because of family reasons. Byram had 21:22 minutes of ice time, was a plus-1 and had two shots on goal.