The Patrick Kane Blackhawks return happened Tuesday night in Las Vegas, and it came with a goal but no win. Kane, 37, played his first game for Chicago since 2023 and scored early in the third period, but the Vegas Golden Knights, last season’s Western Conference champions, took the season opener 5-2 at T-Mobile Arena.
The goal itself was worth the wait. Kane broke in alone 4:04 into the third period, took his time against goalie Carter Hart and finished with a backhand to make it 3-2. It was his first goal in a Blackhawks sweater since 2023, and it gave Chicago a brief shot at a comeback.
Vegas shut that down quickly. Noah Hanifin restored the two-goal lead soon afterward, and Mark Stone sealed the game with an empty-net goal after Chicago pulled goalie Spencer Knight for an extra attacker. Jordan Greenway had scored Chicago’s other goal, a shot from the right circle late in the second period that made it 2-1.
How Vegas took control
The Golden Knights led the whole way and outshot Chicago 37-26, and Knight finished with 32 saves. Victor Olofsson got Vegas’s first goal of the season, and forward Trevor Connelly scored in his NHL debut. Jack Eichel made it 3-1 less than three minutes after Greenway’s goal, and from there Chicago never got closer than a single goal.
Eichel finished with a goal and two assists and went past 700 career points, ending the night at 701. He’s the ninth U.S.-born player to reach 700 points in fewer than 700 games, getting there in 691. The night also marked Ryan Craig’s first win as Vegas head coach, after six seasons as an assistant with the club and three coaching its AHL team in Henderson.
Vegas is now 8-1-1 all-time in season openers and has earned a point in eight straight. Craig inherited a veteran roster that reached last season’s Stanley Cup Final, and this was the first game of the franchise’s 10th NHL season. You can read the full game report from AP for the complete scoring summary.
Patrick Kane Blackhawks return: what he did on the ice
Kane played 21 minutes and 36 seconds and had four shots and eight shot attempts. Before puck drop, he was expected to skate on Chicago’s top line with Roman Kantserov and Oliver Moore. Vegas’s own account also shared a clip of him hitting the post on a power play.
How Kane got back to Chicago
Kane signed a two-year, $16 million contract on July 23 to come home to the team that drafted him first overall in 2007. He spent the first 16 of his 19 NHL seasons in Chicago and won three Stanley Cups there, in 2010, 2013 and 2015, before being traded to the New York Rangers on Feb. 28, 2023. His last game in a Blackhawks jersey before Tuesday came on Feb. 22 of that year.
He spent the last three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, finishing last year with 57 points (16 goals, 41 assists) in 67 games. Coming into Tuesday, he ranked third in Blackhawks history in goals (446), and second in both assists (779) and points (1,225), so his goal should be No. 447 for Chicago. The NHL has more on the signing in its report on the deal.
What’s still unclear for Chicago
Chicago played without Connor Bedard, who’s recovering from shoulder surgery and isn’t expected back until late October at the earliest. He was named the club’s 37th captain on Sept. 15. The Blackhawks also added Kane, Bowen Byram, Cole Smith and Ian Cole this offseason, and they’re now on a three-game road trip that started in Las Vegas.
One game doesn’t tell us much about how Kane fits a new-look lineup, or how many goals Chicago can find without its captain. The NHL regular season is 82 games long, so the Blackhawks have 81 left to work it out. Vegas’s speed on the rush gave them problems, and how Chicago handles that is what to watch over the next few games. HCN will update this story as the season moves along.
Elsewhere in HCN’s sports coverage, see how the Yankees beat the Red Sox in a Wild Card Game 1 shutout and how Spain beat Croatia in the Nations League.