Kane scores with familiar flair in return to Blackhawks

LAS VEGAS -- Patrick Kane took the puck just inside the blue line, the Chicago Blackhawks forward shuffling the puck on both sides of his stick and waiting for just the right time before scoring.

It was vintage Kane, the type of goal that earned the 37-year-old the nickname “Showtime” during his first stint with the Blackhawks from 2007-23, when he was one of their brightest stars and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

“Obviously, your eyes get pretty wide when the puck goes by the defenseman and you’re coming in on a breakaway and chasing up to the puck. Just wanted to be patient with it, take my time, kind of make him make a move first and hang onto it,” Kane said after the Blackhawks’ 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in the season opener for both at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

“Nice it worked out, obviously a pretty good feeling.”

The good feeling of being back with the Blackhawks has been with Kane since he agreed to a two-year, $16 million contract ($8 million average annual value) on July 23. Granted, the outcome against Vegas tinged his return with some understandable disappointment.

“Obviously a tough start. I think we got better as the game went on. Tough to give up one after we cut it to one,” said Kane, whose goal cut Vegas’ lead to 3-2 at 4:04 of the third period.

“I’m sure there are a bunch of lessons in there we can learn from. Obviously, Game 1, I think you take these games and try to learn from it and get better as a team. Obviously, they’re a great team, too, they’ve got a lot of great players, they know how to play, lot of pressure on the puck, tough to play against. Just got to find a way to get better and better as the season goes on here, but obviously a tough start.”

There weren’t a whole lot of bright spots for the Blackhawks against the Golden Knights, who advanced to the Stanley Cup Final last season where they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Kane, however, looked quite Kane-like while he sported the Blackhawks’ road whites again. Especially on that goal.

“I just remember him getting a breakaway and making a nice move, like he always seems to do,” Blackhawks defenseman Bowen Byram said. “I thought ‘Kaner’ was great tonight. He made a lot of plays, made stuff happen. I mean, I don't think that's any surprise to anyone. But yeah, it's good to see him get on the board.”

It was the 509th goal of Kane’s career and his 447th with the Blackhawks. It was also his eighth career goal in a Blackhawks opener, second in their history behind Bobby Hull with 11. He had four shots on goal and logged 21:36 of ice time, second on the Blackhawks to Byram, who played 25:08. Kane also hit a post on a power play in the second period.

“He played pretty good. Obviously, the goal was great,” Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “Early on, we had those two penalties in the first so a bunch of guys didn’t play very much and that may have been part of us being out of rhythm a little bit. So, we have to make sure to do a better job. But overall, I thought he played pretty good.”

Kane started the game at right wing on the top line with Oliver Moore at left wing and Roman Kantserov, who made his NHL debut, at center. Midway through the third period, Kane was with left wing Tyler Bertuzzi and center Frank Nazar. Kane practiced with Nazar for most of training camp.

He had the same assessment of his game as Blashill.

“Not bad,” Kane said. “I feel like anyone, you get better as you get into the game a little bit more and you start getting more ice time and playing a bit more. I thought I was the same as the group, got better as the game went on.”

Kane’s season-opening outing is a reminder of the game he still has left in him. The Blackhawks’ overall performance against the Golden Knights is a reminder of how far they still have to go to get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which they haven’t qualified for since 2019-20.

But Kane knew there were going to be ups and downs and plenty of learning moments with these very young Blackhawks. He’s here for all of it. He’s home again.

“Like I said plenty of times throughout camp, I think it’s one of those things where you come back to Chicago and it feels like a comfortable thing and you’re just hopping back into what you did for 15, 16 years,” Kane said prior to the game.

“But things are different now, right? The team’s different, coaches. Obviously, I have to get used to wearing the jersey again, which we did for so long. I love the jersey. I love the way it looks and felt I was meant to wear it, so it’s fun to be back.”