3 Blackhawks' storylines to watch in season opener against Golden Knights

The Chicago Blackhawks are officially starting the 2026-27 season in Vegas against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The players have been eager to hit the ice again in the regular season for months now, so it should be an exciting night.

But the Blackhawks look different this season. They have some new names (and one familiar- hello, Patrick Kane) on their roster. So, across the offense, defense, and special teams, everything got a tune-up.

The Golden Knights will be a good challenge for the Blackhawks, since Vegas is a consistent Stanley Cup contender that made the Stanley Cup Final last season. The Hawks will also be without captain Connor Bedard, which will test them, too.

Here are three storylines to watch.

The penalty kill

The penalty kill was a point of emphasis for the Blackhawks this offseason because it was one of their strengths last season, second-best in the league (83.6%).

However, the Blackhawks lost some important penalty killers to trades and free agency in Jason Dickinson, Connor Murphy, and Ilya Mikheyev. So, there were some concerns about whether the penalty kill would be as strong this season.

The Blackhawks added some notable penalty killers in Jordan Greenway, Cole Smith, and Ian Cole. It looks like the penalty kill can remain a strength of theirs.

During the preseason, they went 18-for-18, for a 100% success rate. It's hard to make any concrete judgments during a shortened preseason. But it's still a pretty good indicator.

Head coach Jeff Blashill has high hopes for it, too, saying on whether their experience helps: "Yeah, I think so. I think you have a few guys that have done it on a more regular basis. Certainly, we lost a number of guys that did it a lot, but Vlas (Alex Vlasic) has done it a lot. (Wyatt) Kaiser's done it a little bit. Arty (Levshunov) got a little taste of it at the end there in live play up front. Greener (Ryan Greene), Frankie (Frank Nazar), certainly Turbo (Teuvo Teräväinen) - those guys have done it, so it helps kind of teach it. I think, also, we have some guys that have come in here that I think have been really good penalty killers in their respective kills.

"A guy like Greenway, a guy like Cole Smith, Ian Cole, like, they'll adapt and figure it out. So I think we have an opportunity to have a really good kill. But does that manifest itself to the numbers we had last year? I can't predict that, but I think we have an opportunity to have a really good kill."

Vegas had the sixth-best power play last season (24.6%). Their power play was 15th during the preseason (15.4%), but the Blackhawks are likely prepared to be tested.

The line changes

Before the Blackhawks left for Vegas on Sept. 28, Blashill surprised many by changing up the lines, with the top nine looking different than what was shown throughout the preseason.

Notably, Roman Kantserov is centering the first line with Oliver Moore and Patrick Kane. Frank Nazar was moved to the third line with Nick Lardis and Ryan Donato, and Andrew Mangiapane is on the second line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Anton Frondell. Teräväinen also looks to be the extra forward for now.

The defense pairs and the fourth line of Greenway, Greene, and Smith remained unchanged, but it's worth watching whether the other changes will work.

Blashill had mentioned, in part about the tweaks: "I just felt, ultimately, we just hadn't got enough out of the three lines with the combinations we had used. One: got to see Roman at center. Feel confident that he can play center in the NHL. Two: I think Frankie can carry his own line a little bit, and so I think him, Lardis, Donato, could be a really, really dynamic line. So, if that is the case, if it worked out that way, I think you'd be looking at lines with kind of different pluses and minuses, but lines that could go out and win their match."

Sometimes, the things you least expect to work are the ones that do work. But if those line combos miss, that becomes another storyline to watch for the right ones until Bedard returns.

Will the Blackhawks turn their team belief into results?

The Blackhawks have shared the sentiment repeatedly- they want to win, and they expect more.

I asked Artyom Levshunov on Sept. 28 about things he had noticed about the team that excite him: "A lot of good players, good talents. We are ready to play and to win as a group and to get better, and I'm excited to play."

The belief they have in that locker room is palpable. But will that come in the form of points? To be determined.

Blashill said on the first day of training camp on Sept. 17, "First of all, I think we got a lot of competitors, and I also think we have a bunch of guys that have a lot of belief in themselves, and with a lot of ability. I think we have great talent, great character. Now, what does that manifest itself through the course of the season? We get every single day to prove it. Prove what we're about. But I definitely think we have guys with that kind of fire and that kind of belief."

Grab your coffee and settle in tonight for the 9:30 p.m. CT start. The Blackhawks are looking to start their season off on the right foot.

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